It’s Thanksgiving week, which means it’s time to recognize what we’re thankful for. Every baseball fan is familiar with certain moments, outcomes and games attributed to luck -- things that feel extra worthy of gratefulness. Sometimes, it’s a ball that seems like a certain flyout off the bat carrying for a homer. Other times, it’s a pitcher earning the win on a day he wasn’t at his best.
Whether it’s thanks to strong run support, a well-placed line drive, or a lucky bounce, sometimes you end up in the win column regardless of how well you pitched. To be clear: a win is a win, and this is all in good fun. But sometimes a box score line really stands out, and taking a look at these has become an annual tradition. We did this in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
With those concepts in mind, here are six times this season a pitcher had reason to give thanks.
Tony Gonsolin, LAD: May 30 vs. Yankees
Stats: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB
Final score: LAD 8, NYY 5
Gonsolin allowed four home runs, the most by any winning pitcher this season and tied for the most by a pitcher to get the win since the start of 2019. He’s one of two Dodgers pitchers to get a win when allowing four homers in the last 20 seasons, along with Clayton Kershaw on June 19, 2017. If you’re going to allow multiple home runs, it’s best to limit the men on base when doing so. And indeed, three of the four were solo and the other was a two-run home run. The other key to this win for Gonsolin? A four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth while Gonsolin was still the pitcher of record. The Dodgers entered the frame trailing 5-2 before Shohei Ohtani led off the inning with his second home run of the game. Three singles, a double, two walks and a fielder’s choice later, the Dodgers led, 6-5.
Zac Gallen, AZ: June 20 at COL
Stats: 5 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 1 BB
Final score: AZ 14, COL 8
From 2020-24, there were two pitchers to earn a win in a game when allowing at least seven runs. Then, in 2025, it happened four times, with each pitcher allowing seven on the dot. The first of those four was Gallen and of course it came in the offense-friendly environment of Coors Field. Seven runs are seven runs, but the scoring was certainly kept contained. Gallen allowed one run in the third before allowing six in the fourth. He came back out for the fifth and got a strikeout and lineout before allowing a single and then closing out the inning with a fly ball. That kept him in line for the win, with the D-backs up, 9-7. Gallen’s six runs allowed were tied for the most by a pitcher in an inning in a game he won this year, with Stephen Kolek on May 27 and Tomoyuki Sugano on June 27.
Tomoyuki Sugano, BAL: June 27 vs. TB
Stats: 5 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 1 BB
Final score: BAL 22, TB 8
Speaking of Sugano, let’s dig into his outing. He allowed seven runs total, tied for the most by a winning pitcher in 2025, with six coming in one frame, as noted above. The six-run inning was the second, and Tampa Bay led 6-0 entering the bottom half. It turned out that the Orioles had them right where they wanted them. The Orioles scored four in the second and just kept scoring, finishing with 22 runs, including an 8-7 lead when Sugano departed the game. Their 14-run win was the largest by a team in a game it trailed by at least six runs in at least the last 125 seasons. And that’s another way to allow seven and get the win.
Chris Bassitt, TOR: July 18 vs. SF
Stats: 6 1/3 IP, 10 H, 0 R, 0 BB
Final score: TOR 4, SF 0
Wait, a scoreless start? Sometimes even they make the list. There’s working in and out of trouble, and then there’s what Bassitt pulled off. He allowed 10 hits but didn’t allow a run, becoming the first pitcher to do so since John Danks on May 31, 2015. But Danks went the distance in that game. Bassitt was the first pitcher to allow at least 10 hits and not allow a run in an outing of fewer than seven innings since Javier Vazquez on June 21, 2011 in 5 1/3 innings. There were 131 outings where a pitcher allowed at least 10 hits this year, and Bassitt was the only one to emerge scoreless. From the day after Danks’ outing until Bassitt’s, there were 1,488 regular-season outings where a pitcher allowed at least 10 hits. All 1,488 also allowed at least one run. So how did he do it? He induced two well-timed double plays, plus, only one of the 10 was an extra-base hit. His bullpen also played a key role, with Brendon Little stranding the two runners left on when Bassitt was removed in the seventh.
Sonny Gray, STL: July 24 vs. Padres
Stats: 5 IP, 11 H, 7 R (6 ER), 0 BB
Final score: STL 9, SD 7
Gray allowed seven runs, tied for the most by a winning pitcher this season. His 11 hits allowed were also tied for the most by a pitcher in a win, as were the 12 baserunners. This start was the only one to reach each of those highs. One item of note that led to this still being a winning performance for Gray, as for the others to allow seven: run support. Yes, he allowed seven runs, but his counterpart, Yu Darvish, allowed eight runs of his own in 3 1/3 innings. That meant that when Gray’s day was done after five innings, the Cardinals had an 8-7 lead they would not relinquish.
Max Fried, NYY: Aug. 16 at STL
Stats: 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 1 BB
Final score: NYY 12, STL 8
Fried was the fourth and final pitcher to allow seven runs in a game he won this past year. It was the most runs allowed by a Yankees pitcher in a game he won since Ivan Nova in 2011, also seven. How’s this for a coincidence? That outing came on the same date -- August 16 -- and was also in Missouri -- at the Royals, in Kansas City. For Fried, the Yankees hit three home runs and racked up 12 runs. He was removed after a two-run home run with none out in the sixth, but the Yankees led, 9-7, at that point.
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