Giants' Blach becomes 1st pitcher since 2009 to walk 3 times in a game

Ty Blach knows a good pitch when he sees one. On Friday, it just never showed up - so he took his bases.

When he wasn't busy pitching the San Francisco Giants to a 10-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Blach was busy making a little history by not swinging his bat. The right-hander became the first pitcher in eight years to be walked three times in a game, drawing a base on balls in each of his first three plate appearances.

Colorado's Aaron Cook was the last hurler to do it before Blach, on Oct. 1, 2009 against Milwaukee.

But Blach's feat becomes even more impressive when looking back at the history books. Though it was once something of a common occurrence going back to the 1910s and 1920s, pitchers doing what Blach did on Friday night is now a rare feat worthy of celebrating. Since 1970, a pitcher has walked three times in a game just 11 times - and it's only been done five times in the last 41 years.

Blach's walks ultimately helped the Giants, as he came around to score a pair of runs in their rout over Philadelphia. But his luck dried up after walk No. 3, as he struck out in his final three plate appearances to finish 0-for-3 with three walks. While that made Blach the eighth player (and first pitcher) since 1913 to draw three walks and strike out three times in six PA's during a nine-inning contest, it left the 26-year-old one walk shy of becoming the first pitcher in 67 years to draw four walks in a game.

Six pitchers have taken a record four walks in a game on seven occasions since 1913, most recently on June 8, 1950, when the Red Sox Chuck Stobbs drew four walks in a 29-4 rout of the St. Louis Browns.

As for Blach, while the walks were nice, he was more focused on celebrating the work he's actually paid to do - notably, striking out four en route to his first career complete game and shutout to give the struggling Giants a much needed victory.