Quinn Mathews put Stanford on his back — and also his elbow and shoulder.
Stanford pushed its NCAA baseball super regional against Texas to a third game thanks to the gutsy performance of starting pitcher Mathews. The left-hander struck out 16 Longhorn batters in the 8-3 victory, but there may be a more impressive number for him after Sunday's performance.
In the complete-game outing, Mathews threw a gaudy 156 pitches, which is the kind of number that makes college coaches jump for joy but MLB front offices cringe. This comes on the heels of Johns Hopkins University's Gabe Romano throwing 164 pitches in a complete game win over Lynchburg in the NCAA Division III championship last week.
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Mathews, though, insisted he was up for the challenge.
“I told’em I was good to go, and they weren’t going to get the rock out of my hand”
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 12, 2023
- Quinn Mathews after throwing 156 pitches#RoadToOmaha x @StanfordBSB pic.twitter.com/KudzcWaCyc
"I told 'em I was good to go, it wasn't like they weren't going to try and take the rock out of my hand," Mathews said. "I gave up a hit there that made it a little more interesting."
"He (assistant coach Thomas Eager) goes, 'Let's have an adult conversation,' and I said, 'I'm getting this kid out.' And, again, pretty stern conversation there, but they gave me the leeway there. I knew it was my last hitter of the game, I didn't know what my pitch count was at."
Mathews' final line of 16 strikeouts on 156 pitches (103 strikes), one walk and three earned runs capped off a Sunday filled with gems across the super regionals. Virginia pitcher Brian Edgington set the tone for the day with an 114-pitch complete game vs. Duke, sending the Cavaliers to the College World Series, while Tennessee hurler Chris Dollander notched 111 pitches of his own in the Vols' win vs. Southern Miss.
While Mathews showed some big-time guts and a rubber arm to match for the performance, some weren't overly fond of the idea of a college kid throwing that many pitches in a game.
With his third appearance in 10 days, Mathews surpassed 300 pitches thrown while the Cardinal had a five-run lead in the ninth inning (he had 130 pitches entering the frame). That's both admirable, and maybe a bit risky for his future career prospects.
But, Mathews and the Cardinal are living in the now — they just may have to be careful if a dogpile comes around on Monday night.
Most pitches in an MLB game
Nolan Ryan supposedly threw 235 pitches in a 13-inning outing against the Red Sox on June 14, 1974, but no recorded data proves the outing's veracity. Accounts from the game say that Ryan did throw those 235 pitches.
Still, not only is 156 pitches thrown in a game eye-opening, but it's a number not seen in MLB in decades.
Stanford pushed Matthews to 156 pitches. Last MLB pitcher to throw that many was Tim Wakefield in 1997. Last non-knuckleballer to do it was a 33-year-old Roger Clemens in 1996.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) June 12, 2023
The last time a pitcher threw more than 150 pitches in a game was in 1999, when Colorado pitcher Pedro Astacio threw 153 in a 10-5 win over the Brewers.
As far as 150-pitch outings at the MLB level go, there are a pair in the last 23 years: Livan Hernandez threw an 150-pitch nine-inning performance vs. the Marlins in 2005, a game which went to extra innings. Reds pitcher Ron Villone threw 150 in a complete game win vs. the Cardinals in 2000.
Others have come close to the 150-pitch mark. Famously, in 2010, Edwin Jackson threw an 149-pitch no-hitter vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.
All this to say: MLB might be in Mathews' near future, but the trainer's room and an ice pack should be in his immediate one.
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Quinn Mathews MLB Draft
Mathews may be MLB bound soon — especially if the past is any indicator. The 6-foot-5 hurler was selected by the Rays in the 19th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, but opted to return to Stanford for his senior season.
With the 2023 MLB Draft around the corner, Mathews may greatly improve on his draft stock thanks to a solid 2022 season with the Cardinal. He pitched to a 3.65 ERA over 17 games (16 starts) for Stanford this season, and he turns 23 this October. If he is picked, he likely won't have a long stay in the minors given his age, his stuff and the fact that he's a lefty pitcher.
MLB.com currently has him ranked as the No. 119 overall prospect heading into the draft, which runs July 9-11.
