Timing can be everything, just ask Minnesota Twins’ reliever Jeff Gray. On April 11th, Gray came in and threw one pitch (inducing a groundout by the Angels Peter Bourjos) to end the seventh inning with the Twins trailing the Angels 5-3. The Twins scored 3 in the bottom of the inning to take the lead, and held on to give Gray a one batter-one pitch victory. The very next day, Gray came in with two outs in the eighth and the Twins again trailing the Angels (7-6). This time, he took two pitches to get Howie Kendrick to ground into an inning-ending fielder’s choice. The Twins came back with four runs in the bottom of the inning and eventually won 10-9, giving Gray a one batter-two pitch victory. Two days, two batters, three pitches – and two major league wins. Now that’s timing.
Gray still has a long way to go to match Pirates reliever Elroy Face when it comes to timing, however. In 1958, Face set the record for winning percentage for a hurler with at least 15 decisions (.947) going 18-1, with 20 saves, all in relief. Face didn’t lost his first game until September 11, when he was 17-0 on the season. For the year, Face appeared in 57 games, throwing 93 innings
