Scott Baker was excellent for the Twins again yesterday afternoon, allowing zero or one run for the third time in four starts by shutting out the Dodgers for 7.1 innings.
Baker racked up nine strikeouts without a walk until issuing a free pass to the final batter he faced, finishing June with a 1.46 ERA in six starts. And not only does his 3.15 ERA overall this season lead the team by a wide margin, Johan Santana is the only Twins starter with a lower ERA since Kevin Tapani in 1991.
Here are the best single-season ERAs posted by Twins starters during that 20-year span:
ERA YEAR Johan Santana 2.61 2004 Johan Santana 2.77 2006 Johan Santana 2.87 2005 SCOTT BAKER 3.15 2011 Joe Mays 3.16 2001 John Smiley 3.21 1992 Johan Santana 3.33 2007 Scott Erickson 3.40 1992 Carlos Silva 3.44 2005 SCOTT BAKER 3.45 2008
Two things stand out on the above list. One is that Santana was really amazing, posting four of their top seven marks since 1991. Two is that Baker is really underrated, joining Santana as the only starters to crack the top 10 twice. And unlike, say, Joe Mays in 2001, he isn’t doing it with smoke and mirrors, as Baker ranks eighth among AL starters with 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings and seventh in the league with a 101/29 K/BB ratio in 106 frames.