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Even though the 2020 season lasted only 60 games, it saw its fair share of notable individual performances. There were two no-hitters, 10 three-homer games, six five-hit outbursts and much more.
Some of these games produced stat lines never before seen in baseball history -- at least as far back as is covered by available game-by-game data. (Baseball-Reference’s Stathead tool now goes back to 1901 for those purposes).
Before we gratefully flip the calendar to 2021, here is a look back at seven of these unique performances from this past season.
Aug. 25 vs. Pirates: 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 13 K, 101 pitches
When the White Sox ace mowed down the Bucs for the 19th no-hitter in franchise history, he did so in especially dominant and efficient fashion. The 13 strikeouts alone were impressive, with Giolito becoming one of 22 pitchers to pile up that many in a no-no. Combine that with just one walk -- the lone baserunner Giolito allowed -- and you have something truly spectacular. The righty became the eighth pitcher to strike out 13-plus and walk no more than one in a no-hitter, joining the likes of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Randy Johnson and Sandy Koufax. The lack of free passes helped Giolito keep his pitch count down, a necessity for any pitcher trying to finish the job in 2020. Complete pitch-count data only goes back to 1988, but Giolito’s 101 pitches are the fewest on record for a no-hitter with at least 13 K's.