Few things are more captivating in a baseball game than when both starting pitchers bring their absolute best stuff. Even if there’s not much action on the offensive end, watching two guys paint masterpiece performances on the mound one inning after another showcases the beauty of the sport like no
Few things are more captivating in a baseball game than when both starting pitchers bring their absolute best stuff. Even if there’s not much action on the offensive end, watching two guys paint masterpiece performances on the mound one inning after another showcases the beauty of the sport like no other.
Below are four of the most exciting pitching duels of 2019 that are all available to watch during the MiLB.TV free preview. Head over to Twitter to vote on which one will be streamed as the Game of the Week, presented by Applegate, on Facebook Live this Thursday!
Guzman and McKay deal in Jacksonville
About a month into the season, Jorge Guzman and Brendan McKay matched each other with possibly their best performances of the year. Guzman, the Marlins’ No. 19 prospect, was spotless out of the gate for Jacksonville -- the hard-throwing right-hander didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth inning. Rays second-ranked prospect McKay was steady throughout, yielding one hit per frame for Montgomery until his final trip out of the dugout. Both pitchers were lifted after the sixth with the game tied 0-0, and their bullpens kept up the good work until the ninth when two wild pitches allowed the Biscuits to eek out the game’s lone run and capture the victory. Guzman’s team may not have come out victorious, but he won the battle on the hill as his two hits allowed trumped McKay’s five, and his 10 strikeouts overshadowed McKay’s six. Full story | Highlight: Guzman's final K | Watch game
Davidson and Dobnak great over eight
This midsummer battle definitely takes the cake in terms of longevity as Mississippi’s Tucker Davidson and Pensacola’s Randy Dobnak each went eight innings strong while striking out nine. Both pitchers faced the minimum until the fourth, when Dobnak issued a two-out walk before escaping unscathed. Davidson, Atlanta’s No. 10 prospect, struck out two of three batters in the top of the next frame, and then Dobnak let in the game’s only run when Greyson Jenista came around after hitting a leadoff double. The pair was locked in from there, trading scoreless frames until Davidson was lifted for the closer in the ninth. Dobnak almost got the chance to go back out as the Blue Wahoos came a hit or two away from tying it up. But while he didn’t get the win, he was rewarded with a call-up to Triple-A Rochester after the game. Davidson earned the bump to Gwinnett just a couple weeks later. Gameday | Highlight: Davidson's eighth K | Watch game
Storm, Giants do battle led by Gore, Meisner
There must’ve been something in the air that night in San Jose. Between the game’s eight pitchers, just nine hits were allowed over 10 innings, with top Padres prospect MacKenzie Gore and Giants prospect Casey Meisner leading the way. Both tossed five blank frames with Gore surrendering three hits and Meisner allowing two. They also both worked their way around multiple baserunners; the fourth inning was the only one in which neither pitcher allowed a batter to reach. After they were spelled in the fifth, the relief corps that was called in to follow them kept up the pace -- Steven Wilson and Jordan Guerrero tossed four hitless frames for Lake Elsinore, and Peter Lannoo, Olbis Parra and Frank Rubio stitched together five clean innings for San Jose. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 10th that the tides finally turned and the Giants drove in their designated runner to win the game. Gore and Meisner weren’t the only ones dazzling in this one, but their stellar performance set the stage for their bullpen to help them shine. Full story | Highlight: Gore fans sixth batter | Watch game
Marvelous May and Margevicius
Dustin May’s performance in this late June contest was one of the best anyone turned in across the Minors all of last season, but Nick Margevicius was nothing short of special, too. The Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect rang up a career-high 14 batters for Tulsa, tearing through the Amarillo lineup en route to a ONEOK Field record for K's in a game. The red-headed ace scattered just two hits over seven scoreless innings, a performance so pristine it earned him a call to Triple-A Oklahoma City soon after. And while Margevicius may not have been posting as gaudy numbers, he was still twirling an excellent performance. The southpaw gave up just two hits and two walks over six frames and let in just one unearned run while striking out six. While May’s performance seemed to be enough to power the Drillers to victory alone at first, he was robbed of the ‘W’ in the top of the ninth as the Sod Poodles scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the game. He and his fellow Los Angeles youngsters got the last laugh, however, as a single in the bottom of the 10th by Drew Avans brought in No. 20 Zach McKinstry to cap off what was arguably one of the most exciting showdowns of the year. Full story | Highlight: May records 14th K | Watch game
Jordan Wolf is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter: @byjordanwolf.
