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This Day in Yankees History: Ron Guidry Strikes Out 18

On this day in Yankees history, Ron Guidry set a franchise record with 18 strikeouts. To celebrate the anniversary of his historic performance, here's more
Max Goodman|
This Day in Yankees History: Ron Guidry Strikes Out 18
This Day in Yankees History: Ron Guidry Strikes Out 18

On this day in Yankees history, Louisiana Lightning struck 18 times in the Bronx. 

Left-hander Ron Guidry took the mound against the California Angels on June 17, 1978, and twirled one of the best performances by a starting pitcher in franchise history. 

Guidry struck out 18, setting a new single-game franchise record – one that still stands to this day – while allowing just four hits in a complete game shutout. 

The southpaw was in his fourth big-league season in '78 and just his second full season in pinstripes. His dominant outing on that Saturday under the lights at Yankee Stadium was his 11th win of the campaign in just 14 starts. 

Just five days prior, Guidry had thrown a complete-game shutout against the Athletics, striking out 11 while allowing just three hits. Believe it or not, he would finish the season with nine shutouts, each with six hits or less allowed.

Guidry finished the '78 campaign with 25 victories – the most in all of baseball – to go along with a league-best 1.74 ERA. Unsurprisingly, he was the recipient of the American League Cy Young Award.

Louisiana Lightning struck out the side three times in his historic performance 42 years ago Wednesday. From the fourth through the sixth frame, he retired eight of the 10 Angels he faced via the strikeout. In California's lineup was Don Baylor, who went on to win an MVP Award the following season. Behind the plate for New York was Thurman Munson.

The closest any Yankees hurler has come to Guidry's historic mark is 16 strikeouts from David Cone in 1997. 

To put Guidry's performance into perspective, only 26 pitchers have ever struck out 18 or more hitters in a single nine-inning game. Three are tied at the top of the list with 20 punch outs in one contest (Max Scherzer, Kerry Wood and Roger Clemens who did it twice).

While the Yankees account for three of the 23 perfect games ever to be thrown, Guidry is the franchise's lone representative on the list of hurlers to register 18 strikeouts.

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For more from Max Goodman, follow him on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. Follow ITP on Twitter @SI_Yankees and Facebook @SIYankees

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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