How Eric Lauer Made Dodgers History With an Amazing Pitching Performance

Quick Recap of the Game

Imagine you’re watching a baseball game, and a pitcher comes in and just shuts down the other team completely. No runs. No hits. Nothing. That’s exactly what happened when the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Minnesota Twins in their series opener!

Here’s how it all unfolded:

• The Dodgers started with a pitcher named Will Klein as the opener (that’s a pitcher who starts the game but only throws for a very short time).
• That didn’t go so well — Byron Buxton, a dangerous Twins hitter, smashed his 25th home run of the season in the very first inning!
• Then Eric Lauer came in to pitch in the second inning, with the score tied 1-1.
• Lauer pitched six full innings (from the 2nd all the way through the 7th) and gave up zero runs and zero hits.

Why this matters: The Dodgers planned this strategy on purpose. They didn’t want Lauer — who isn’t as effective against Buxton a third time — to face him again, so they had Klein open the game instead. The plan worked out perfectly!

How Rare Is This?

You might think a pitcher throwing six innings without giving up a hit isn’t that special. But it actually is incredibly rare in Dodgers history!

• The only other time a Dodgers reliever (someone who isn’t the starting pitcher) achieved this was Dave Stewart way back on August 9, 1982.
• Stewart pitched the final six innings of a 13-inning win against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium.

So the last time this happened was over 40 years ago!

The Bigger Picture: Dave Stewart’s Historic Season

Dave Stewart’s gem came during one of the most exciting times in Dodgers history:

• The Dodgers were fighting for a pennant race (trying to finish first in their division).
• At one point, on July 28, they were a whopping 10 games behind the Atlanta Braves.
• Stewart’s performance was part of a winning streak — the Dodgers’ seventh straight win!
• That streak brought them within just half a game of Atlanta.
• The very next day, the Dodgers took first place, making a stunning comeback from being 10 games back just 13 days earlier.

Basically, the team went from "our season might be over" to "we’re in first place!" in less than two weeks!

The Record That Still Stands

Even though Lauer’s and Stewart’s six-inning hitless relief outings are legendary, the longest one in history belongs to Bob Milliken back in 1953:

1. Milliken replaced rookie Johnny Podres after two outs in the very first inning.
2. Podres appeared to be injured and didn’t pitch again for 13 days, which supports the injury theory.
3. Milliken then finished the entire game by recording the final 25 outs — meaning he pitched around 8 and two-thirds innings without giving up a single hit.

That record has stood for over 70 years!

Summary

FAQ

Q: What is an "opener" in baseball?
A: An opener is a pitcher who starts the game but only pitches for a very short time — usually just the first inning or two — before handing the ball to another pitcher. It’s a strategy teams use to get a favorable matchup early in the game.

Q: Why didn’t the Dodgers want Eric Lauer to face Byron Buxton a third time?
A: In baseball, it’s generally harder for a batter to face the same pitcher a third time in a game. The manager wanted to avoid that matchup by using a different pitcher (Klein) to face Buxton first.

Q: How many innings are in a regular baseball game?
A: A standard Major League Baseball game is 9 innings. Extra innings are played if the score is tied.

Q: Is Bob Milliken’s record from 1953 really the longest hitless relief outing in Dodgers history?
A: Yes! He recorded 25 outs (roughly 8 and two-thirds innings) without giving up a hit, which is longer than both Lauer’s and Stewart’s six-inning performances.

Q: Who are the Minnesota Twins?
A: The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball team (often referred to as "Minnesota" by fans) that plays in the same league as the Dodgers. They are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.