Best Pitchers' Duels of the 1980s, Part 1

Here is a list of the best pitchers' duels of the early 1980s, one for each year:

April 10th, 1980: The aces of their respective teams, former Cy Young winner Ron Guidry of the Yankees and Jon Matlack of the Rangers hooked up for a great early-season match-up. Both pitched 9 shutout innings, with Guidry giving up just 2 hits to Matlack's 3. Neither allowed a walk, although neither struck out a lot of batters either (Guidry - 5, Matlack - 4). The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 12th, when closer Goose Gossage of New York uncorked a wild pitch to score ex-Yankee Mickey Rivers from third base.

September 21, 1981: In a game I've already chronicled, Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies failed to pick up a victory despite 10 shutout innings against Ray Burris and the Expos. The game ended on a 17th inning walk-off single by Andre Dawson.

October 1, 1982: Both John Denny of the Phillies and Terry Leach of the Mets allowed just 1 hit, but Leach went 10 to pick up a shutout victory. Leach did walk 6, although the only hit was a Luis Aguayo triple in the 5th inning. Hubie Brooks's sac fly off reliever Porfi Altamirano in the 10th would be all the Mets would need in this one.

July 31, 1983: Both Mike Torrez of the Mets and Jose DeLeon of the Pirates pitched the games of their lives in this one, but ultimately it would be decided by the bullpens. DeLeon allowed just 1 hit and 3 walks against 11 strikeouts, pitching 9 innings of shutout ball. He carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the 9th before it was broken up by Hubie Brooks. Torrez, on the other hand, kept bending but did not break, allowing 8 hits, and getting out of jams in the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 10th. He went 11 shutout innings. The turning point of the game may have come in the 7th, when Tony Pena of the Pirates was caught stealing home with two outs. George Foster drove home the winning run from second in the 12th inning off of Manny Sarmiento.