Where does Sonny Gray's Maddux rank among all-time Cardinals' pitching performances?

On Friday night, St. Louis Cardinals ace Sonny Gray dazzled in his start against the Cleveland Guardians. He pitched a complete game shutout while allowing only one hit and needing only 89 pitches to do so. He didn't walk a batter, and he struck out 11 hitters in his near-perfect night.

Gray's start etched his name into history books for both the Cardinals and Major League Baseball, but was it the best start by a Cardinal in franchise history? For an organization without a perfect game to its name, it's certainly up there.

What are the four best outings by a St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher?

This list is in no particular order. It's simply a list of the greatest games.

Sonny Gray - 6/27/25 vs Cleveland Guardians

I won't dig too deeply into this outing. Go ahead and read my game recap for more minute details.

The most impressive part of Gray's game against the Guardians was the fact that he accomplished this feat with only 89 pitches. If Sonny Gray struck out every batter using the minimum amount of pitches, he still would've needed to record 16 outs on 55 pitches. His highest pitch count in an inning was 12 pitches in the fifth — the same inning where he gave up the lone hit to Nolan Jones, also the only time he shook off his catcher.

He had perhaps the best Maddux in baseball history thanks to a game score of 96.

Gray was complimentary of his battery mate after the game, saying that Pedro Pages called an excellent game as well. The Guardians' offense is down this year, but that shouldn't take away from Gray's impressive feat.

Chris Carpenter - 10/7/2011 vs Philadelphia Phillies NLDS Game 5

What Chris Carpenter did against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the 2011 World Series is perhaps one of the greatest pitching performances in a postseason game in Cardinals' history (actually, probably not. Stay tuned.)

Carp went the distance against the Phillies in the NLDS, striking out three batters, allowing only three hits, walking none, and shutting out one of the best teams of that era in a high-stakes elimination game. Carpenter used 110 pitches, and he helped the Cardinals stay in the playoff hunt to eventually win the World Series. The Redbirds would go on to win 1-0. Carpenter's game score was 84 here, the lowest of these starts, but the high-pressure situations makes it all the more impressive.

It also shouldn't go unmentioned here that Carpenter went 1-3 at the plate with a single. Remember when pitchers could still hit?

Shelby Miller - 5/10/2013 vs Colorado Rockies

Shelby Miller's start in St. Louis against the Colorado Rockies didn't start the way he wanted it to necessarily, but it certainly ended how he wanted.

Miller allowed a leadoff single to Eric Young Jr., only to retire the next 27 batters in a row for a complete game shutout in 2013. He struck out 13 batters, walked none, and the Cardinals won the game 3-0. Miller threw 113 pitches in his near-perfect outing. Miller's game score of 98 is the highest on this list.

Miller was complimentary of his backstop, too, saying, "I say it time and time again, what Yadi calls, I throw. "He was calling the right thing all night. He's done a terrific job all year and he's helping me out tremendously. I'm happy he's my catcher, that's for sure."

Bob Gibson - 10/2/1968 vs Detroit Tigers World Series Game 1

Bob Gibson's exceptional start in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series is the best pitching performance by a Cardinal in the postseason.

Gibby struck out 17 batters, walked only one, and allowed five hits without letting a single runner cross the plate for a game score of 93. In his max-effort outing, Gibson faced 32 batters.

Gibson's efforts in the first game of the 1968 World Series were simply a continuation of one of the best single seasons by a starting pitcher in baseball. Gibson had a 1.12 ERA in 1968 across 304.2 innings. He struck out 268 batters that year.

The fact that Bob Gibson pitched so exceptionally well in the World Series makes this start even more magnificent.