36 Years Ago Today
Blue Jays starter Dave Stieb had carried no-hitters into the ninth inning three times before. So, when Stieb took the mound in Cleveland on September 2, 1990, he must have wondered what would happen this time. Here’s what happened those previous three times:
-
On September 24, 1988, in Cleveland, Julio Franco broke up the no-hitter with a ground ball that took an unexpectedly high hop, sailing over second baseman Manny Lee’s head.
-
In Stieb’s very next start, this time in Toronto against the Orioles, Jim Traber ended the bid with a soft two-out fly ball that dropped between the infielders and outfielders.
-
Then, on August 4, 1989, during the inaugural season at SkyDome, Roberto Kelly spoiled a potential perfect game with a two-out double into the gap in the ninth inning.
But the fourth time, everything finally fell into place.
In the ninth, Stieb:
-
Got pinch-hitter Chris James to fly out (a pretty deep flyout).
-
Struck out pinch-hitter Candy Maldonado.
-
Walked Alex Cole (Stieb walked 4, unusual for him).
-
And he induced Jerry Browne to fly/line out to right fielder Junior Felix.
Here is the final out:
Cleveland didn’t exactly have a powerhouse lineup in 1990. Their cleanup hitter, Ken Phelps (perhaps best known for a Seinfeld reference rather than his baseball stats), was batting just .155/.288/.198 at the time. In fact, five of their starters had an OPS below .700.
Stieb didn’t feel he was at his best that day. From the Toronto Star game story:
I didn’t have great control. I couldn’t find my release point in the early innings. I hung pitches but got away with them. They helped me out a few times by swinging at bad pitches. They hit balls right at people.
The win was Stieb’s 17th of the season against 5 losses. He finished the game with a 2.91 ERA. He would finish the season 18-6 with a 2.93 ERA, his most wins in a season, setting a new team-high.
I was a huge fan of Stieb—he was fiercely competitive. He would have been a good match for Jose Bautista, but unlike Jose, Stieb wasn’t afraid to stare down teammates who made mistakes. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t at its best when he was in his prime. I’m not sure if he was a bad teammate in other respects, but that kind of behavior probably didn’t make him popular in the clubhouse.
But I wasn’t on the team—I just saw him as the best player on my team and, at the time, the best pitcher in baseball. I admired his drive to win. For much of his career, there weren’t many other Jays worth cheering for.
It is still the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history.
|
Batting |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
PA |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
WPA |
Details |
|
Mookie Wilson DH |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
.264 |
.304 |
.354 |
.658 |
-0.099 |
|
|
Tony Fernández SS |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.258 |
.343 |
.377 |
.720 |
-0.026 |
CS |
|
Kelly Gruber 3B |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
.261 |
.315 |
.474 |
.788 |
-0.013 |
|
|
Fred McGriff 1B |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.309 |
.416 |
.565 |
.981 |
0.118 |
2·HR |
|
Pat Borders C |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
.293 |
.325 |
.514 |
.838 |
-0.057 |
|
|
Glenallen Hill LF |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
.235 |
.287 |
.449 |
.736 |
0.006 |
|
|
Ken Williams CF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.153 |
.203 |
.197 |
.400 |
0.036 |
2B |
|
Manuel Lee 2B |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.242 |
.281 |
.346 |
.627 |
0.038 |
2B |
|
Junior Félix RF |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
.271 |
.340 |
.458 |
.798 |
-0.058 |
|
|
Team Totals |
34 |
3 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
35 |
.235 |
.257 |
.471 |
.728 |
-0.055 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2026.
|
Batting |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
PA |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
WPA |
Details |
|
Alex Cole CF |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
.328 |
.404 |
.388 |
.792 |
-0.079 |
CS |
|
Jerry Browne 2B |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.266 |
.339 |
.372 |
.711 |
-0.077 |
|
|
Dion James LF |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
.276 |
.347 |
.371 |
.718 |
-0.040 |
|
|
Ken Phelps DH |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
.155 |
.288 |
.198 |
.486 |
0.024 |
|
|
Brook Jacoby 1B |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
.283 |
.358 |
.418 |
.776 |
-0.105 |
|
|
Carlos Baerga SS |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
.240 |
.285 |
.362 |
.647 |
-0.078 |
CS |
|
Cory Snyder RF |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
.234 |
.266 |
.402 |
.668 |
-0.100 |
|
|
Tom Brookens 3B |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
.235 |
.288 |
.311 |
.598 |
-0.041 |
|
|
Chris James PH |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.299 |
.343 |
.444 |
.788 |
-0.022 |
|
|
Joel Skinner C |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
.250 |
.289 |
.324 |
.614 |
-0.026 |
|
|
Candy Maldonado PH |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.269 |
.330 |
.437 |
.767 |
-0.012 |
|
|
Team Totals |
25 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
9 |
29 |
.000 |
.138 |
.000 |
.138 |
-0.556 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2026.
|
Pitching |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
ERA |
BF |
Pit |
Str |
GB |
FB |
LD |
GSc |
WPA |
|
Dave Stieb, W (17-5) |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
9 |
0 |
2.91 |
29 |
123 |
75 |
6 |
10 |
1 |
92 |
0.554 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2026.
|
Pitching |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
ERA |
BF |
Pit |
Str |
Ctct |
StS |
StL |
GB |
FB |
LD |
GSc |
WPA |
|
Bud Black, L (10-9) |
7 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
3.63 |
27 |
121 |
79 |
56 |
13 |
10 |
8 |
13 |
2 |
63 |
0.060 |
|
Jesse Orosco |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3.72 |
4 |
18 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
-0.013 |
|
|
Steve Olin |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.04 |
4 |
8 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0.007 |
|
|
Team Totals |
9 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
3.00 |
35 |
147 |
93 |
66 |
15 |
12 |
11 |
17 |
4 |
63 |
0.054 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2026.
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