Any time a player finds himself in the same company as Giants legends Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum, it usually is a pretty good sign.
That’s where Blake Snell now sits after another dominant outing Monday night against the Atlanta Braves.
With 11 strikeouts in his latest start, Snell now has punched out 45 batters over his last four starts, adding onto his eight K’s on Aug. 7, 11 in his Aug. 2 no-hitter and record-setting 15 on July 27.
Only John Montefusco has fanned more batters in a four-game span in Giants franchise history, per Baseball Reference; he racked up 46 during his MLB All-Star season back in 1975.
Lincecum and Bumgarner are the only other San Francisco pitchers to strike out more than 40 in the same interval. Bumgarner had a particularly ludicrous stretch during the summer of 2015 when he did so twice in non-overlapping stretches. Of course, Lincecum’s dominant Cy Young seasons of 2008 and 2009 need no explanation.
His punchout prowess isn’t the only way Snell made history Monday night, either.
The Giants franchise has been around for a very long time, but nobody has limited opponents to a lower batting average over seven starts than Snell.
The name Ferdie Schupp isn’t quite as recognizable as Lincecum or Bumgarner, but Snell nevertheless joined another exclusive club.
Snell’s .097 opponent batting average eked out Schupp’s .108 from 1916; that same year, the New York Giants lefty posted a ridiculous 0.90 ERA in 140.1 innings, which remains an MLB record.
The current Giants southpaw won’t outdo that mark, but it does underscore the caliber of Snell’s recent stretch.
And if he can keep it up, he’ll continue to join the ranks of more all-time great pitchers.