A leadoff, broken-bat single by Eric Young Jr. proved to be the only flaw in an otherwise perfect game for 22-year-old right-hander Shelby Miller on May 10, 2013, as he retired 27 consecutive batters for a one-hit shutout and a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.
“It was a start I’ll remember the rest of my life,” Miller said after throwing the first shutout of his career.[1]
In front of a crowd of 37,800 fans at Busch Stadium, Miller fell behind Young 3-and-1 before coming inside with a fastball just off the plate. It was a good pitch, but the Rockies’ switch-hitter, who was batting left-handed, was able to punch the ball into right field.
“It was a jam shot and I just put it in a good location,” Young said. “I was just fortunate enough to find grass.”[2]
Young didn’t take long to put pressure on Miller, stealing second base with no one out before Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler popped up. Miller then struck out Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki looking.
It was just the beginning of what proved to be a dominant performance for the rookie, who made his major-league debut the previous season.
A 2009 first-round draft pick out of Brownwood High School in Brownwood, Texas, Miller had emerged as the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect after going 9-3 with a 2.70 ERA in Double-A Springfield in 2011. Though Miller experienced growing pains in 2012 at Triple-A, finishing with a 4.74 ERA in 136 2/3 innings, he remained a key piece of the Cardinals’ future. Heading into the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Miller the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball. Baseball Prospectus had him ranked 16th and MLB.com ranked him No. 25.
So far in 2013, Miller had lived up to the hype. Entering his May 10 start against the Rockies, Miller was 4-2 with a 1.96 ERA and 38 strikeouts through 36 2/3 innings.
With Yadier Molina calling pitches against a Colorado lineup that had never seen Miller before, the Texas youngster was even better. Fowler, Gonzalez, and Tulowitzki – the Rockies’ No. 2-4 hitters in the lineup – went a combined 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts.
“That kid was impressive, all right,” Gonzalez said. “Just one hit, one broken-bat base hit in the first at-bat. Then he shut it down. Thirteen strikeouts, good combination with the breaking ball and fastball. Of course, having a great catcher behind the plate helps too. He was making good pitches, barely strikes. It’s not like he was leaving the pitch right down the middle.”[3]
Catcher Wilin Rosario and third baseman Nolan Arenado were the only Rockies hitters to escape the day without striking out, though both went 0-for-3. While Miller was retiring 27 consecutive Rockies batters, the Cardinals compiled three runs on an RBI single from Pete Kozma, a solo home run from Carlos Beltran, and a sacrifice fly by Jon Jay.
Miller ended the game by striking out Young on three pitches, concluding the at-bat with a 95-mph fastball for his 13th strikeout of the game.
“I’ve always been told I get better later in games,” Miller said.[4]
Miller needed just 113 pitches – including 84 strikes – to finish the first complete game of his career. It was the fewest hits allowed by a Cardinals pitcher since Bud Smith’s no-hitter on September 3, 2001.
“It’s pretty incredible how he held his composure, made real good pitches all night long against a very good offense,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.[5]
“I think this is one of those nights where we ran into a pitcher that had everything working,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “It’s a talented young arm and he had his A game tonight. He looks like a horse out there. He was impressive.”[6]
Miller credited catcher Yadier Molina for calling a strong game and said he never had to shake his battery mate off.
“Obviously he called a great game,” Miller said. “I was following him the whole time. I trust Yadi with everything. The way he goes about his business – a true professional – he makes it easier on me. Whatever he was (signaling), I was throwing. It’s been like that all year and yesterday it was clicking that much more and everything seemed to be working for us.”[7]
In addition to his duties behind the plate, Molina extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single and a double.
Miller, who threw four no-hitters in high school, including three in a row his junior year, said he was well aware of his one-hitter as he recorded 27 consecutive outs.
“I knew I was getting people out,” he said. “I knew that was the only hit I’d given up. I knew what was going on. Absolutely.”[8]
With the win, Miller improved to 5-2 on the season with a 1.58 ERA. He finished the year 15-9 with a 3.06 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 173 1/3 innings and placed third in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting behind Jose Fernandez and Yasiel Puig.
“He’s very talented, there’s no doubt about that,” Beltran said. “That’s why he’s here.”[9]
Miller followed his 2013 campaign with a 10-9 record and 3.74 ERA in 2014. In 69 career games for the Cardinals, he had compiled a 26-18 record with a 3.33 ERA before he was traded with pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins to the Braves for Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden in November 2014.
Heading into the 2024 season, Miller had pitched in 11 big-league seasons for the Cardinals, Braves, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Cubs, Pirates, Giants, and Dodgers, and was signed with the Tigers for 2024.
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[1] Associated Press, “Cards’ Miller retires 27 straight in 1-hitter,” Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, May 11, 2013.
[2] Rick Hummel, “Miller almost perfect in win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 2013.
[3] Rick Hummel, “Miller almost perfect in win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 2013.
[4] Rick Hummel, “Miller almost perfect in win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 2013.
[5] Associated Press, “Cards’ Miller retires 27 straight in 1-hitter,” Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, May 11, 2013.
[6] Associated Press, “Cards’ Miller retires 27 straight in 1-hitter,” Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, May 11, 2013.
[7] Tom Timmerman, “Molina is behind pitchers’ success,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 12, 2013.
[8] Rick Hummel, “Miller almost perfect in win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 2013.
[9] Rick Hummel, “Miller almost perfect in win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 2013.