On July 18, 1978, Don Sutton tossed a complete game against the Pittsburgh Pirates to help lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-2 victory at Three Rivers Stadium. The win gave Sutton 200 in his career.
Although the game ended in triumph for Sutton and the Dodgers, it was actually the Pirates who took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Dodgers responded with four runs in the fourth inning to take a lead the never relinquished.
The rally began on a Ron Cey leadoff double, which was followed by a walk from Steve Garvey. After Dusty Baker’s sacrifice fly, Joe Ferguson clubbed a three-run home run.
Sutton had six strikeouts and allowed the two runs on six hits in what was his 10th win of the season. He finished the year 15-11 with a 3.55 ERA in 34 starts.
Sutton spent 16 seasons with the Dodgers, with 15 coming consecutively before returning for a final year in 1988. He set several franchise records along the way and still resides as the Dodgers’ all-time leader in wins (233), innings pitched (3,816.1), strikeouts (2,696), games started (533) and shutouts (52).
Sutton’s No. 20 jersey is retired by the Dodgers, and it’s the only that is solely predicated on the franchise’s time in Los Angeles. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
