Every team’s best single-game performance of 2024

There was no shortage of storylines in the 2024 season, which featured some of the best individual seasons and performances that baseball has ever seen — we’re looking at you Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

Which single-game performances were the best? We asked each of our 30 beat writers which individual performances stood out for each club.

Here’s what they said.

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Blue Jays: Bowden Francis flirts with a no-hitter, Aug. 24
It feels like no-hitters hold an even greater level of mystique in Toronto. Only Dave Stieb has done it, and it took Stieb a painful string of near-misses before he finally reached the mountaintop. Francis wasn’t the pitcher anyone would have expected to take a run at history entering the season, but his two close calls with history helped establish him as one of the best stories of the season down the stretch. This one, in which Francis struck out 12 Angels batters before allowing a home run to Taylor Ward to open the ninth inning, was the most dominant pitching performance of the year for the Blue Jays. Stieb still stands alone, but eventually, he’ll have some company. — Keegan Matheson

Orioles: Kyle Bradish’s near-no-hitter in Chicago, May 26
Bradish’s 2024 season got off to a delayed start, as he spent the first month on the injured list due to a right UCL sprain. He then made only eight starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery in mid-June. But one of those outings ended up being the best of the 28-year-old right-hander’s 61-start MLB career. Bradish struck out a career-high-tying 11 White Sox batters while tossing seven hitless innings at Guaranteed Rate Field. The gem ended after 103 pitches, and the Sox broke up the combined no-hit bid in the eighth on Danny Mendick’s homer off Danny Coulombe. Still, it was an extraordinary effort by Bradish, who could eventually throw a no-no in the future once healthy. — Jake Rill

Rays: Jose Siri robs a homer then walks it off, May 29
Sure, the Rays enjoyed two-homer games by Josh Lowe, Randy Arozarena and even Siri himself. The Rays had some brilliant pitching performances, too: Tyler Alexander’s perfect-game bid in Toronto, Shane Baz’s 7 2/3 innings in Oakland, seven-inning/one-hit gems by Taj Bradley and Zack Littell, and two double-digit strikeout starts by Ryan Pepiot. But what Siri did against the Athletics at Tropicana Field was arguably the Rays’ most memorable feat of the year. In the top of the ninth, Siri leaped over Arozarena and reached up to rob Zack Gelof of a tiebreaking, two-run homer. In the bottom of the ninth, Siri lined a walk-off single to left. It was, as Pepiot said, “like a storybook ending.” — Adam Berry

Red Sox: Houck tosses a “Maddux”, April 17
It would be hard to pitch any better or more efficiently than Tanner Houck did on the night of April 17 at home against the Guardians. The righty went the distance in a three-hit shutout in which he walked none and struck out nine while throwing 93 pitches. The game lasted just one hour and 49 minutes. A Maddux is a complete-game shutout in under 100 pitches, and obviously a tribute to Hall of Famer Greg Maddux who made such performances somewhat routine during his prime. — Ian Browne

Yankees: Anthony Volpe plays the game of his life, Oct. 29
Given the stage and the stakes, Volpe’s performance in Game 4 of the World Series provided one of the few memories that Yankees fans may fondly recall from that showdown against the Dodgers. With the Bombers facing elimination after losing the first three games to Los Angeles, Volpe became the first player in World Series history to register four RBIs and two stolen bases in a single game, slugging a third-inning grand slam off Daniel Hudson that helped propel New York to an 11-4 victory. It was a full-circle moment for Volpe, who was born and raised a Yankees fan on New York’s Upper East Side and in greener parts of New Jersey, and skipped school to attend the parade after the Yanks’ 2009 World Series win. — Bryan Hoch

Guardians: Joey Cantillo perfect through six innings in Chicago, Sept. 9
Cantillo hadn’t found his footing yet in the Majors. He had only made six appearances (five starts) at this point, but the Guardians were desperate for starting pitching. And with the division on the line, they needed their rookie to step up. After an appearance out of the bullpen the week before, something clicked. Cantillo dominated the White Sox and became just one of seven Cleveland pitchers to be perfect through at least six innings (6 2/3 to be exact) since the last perfect game in franchise history in 1981. He struck out a career high 10 batters before ultimately giving up one run on two hits in seven frames in the Guardians’ win. — Mandy Bell

Royals: One of many games in which Witt flashes all the tools, April 11
Bobby Witt Jr. had a long list of standout games in 2024, but perhaps his best was all the way back in April against the Astros. On April 11 at Kauffman Stadium, Witt went 4-for-5 with two home runs, four runs scored, five RBIs and a stolen base. He powered the Royals to a 13-3 win, their seventh consecutive victory, during their early sweep of the eventual AL West champions. It was an early indicator of the Royals’ success and Witt’s amazing ‘24 campaign. Honorable mentions for this include Dairon Blanco’s seven-RBI game on Aug. 17 against the Reds, Vinnie Pasquantino’s 3-for-3 game with a double, homer and five RBIs against the Astros on April 10 and Witt’s 4-for-5 night against the White Sox that included a go-ahead grand slam on July 29. — Anne Rogers

Tigers: Skubal shuts down Guards in Game 2 of ALDS, Oct. 7
The Tigers were blessed with several outstanding pitching performances, but given the circumstances and the stage, Tarik Skubal’s seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Cleveland tops the list. The Cy Young winner retired the Guardians’ first 13 batters in order, induced double plays to end back-to-back innings and famously yelled at Guardians fans on his way off the mound. He also kept the Tigers in a scoreless duel until Kerry Carpenter’s ninth-inning home run off closer Emmanuel Clase pushed the Tigers in front. — Jason Beck

Twins: Bailey Ober throws a 10-strikeout complete game … on 89 pitches, June 22
It can’t hurt when your performance is one of only two of its kind on record … and the other is David Cone’s perfect game. That’s what Bailey Ober did on an otherwise nondescript June 22 afternoon against the Athletics, when he joined Cone as the only pitchers to register double-digit strikeouts in a nine-inning complete game while using 90 or fewer pitches. That’s a mouthful that doesn’t do justice to the journey that took Ober from the rookie with the lengthy injury history whose workload the Twins carefully monitored by pulling him early from starts … to this fully established starter capable of this kind of performance when everything’s clicking. — Do-Hyoung Park

White Sox: Garrett Crochet’s record-tying dominance at Rate Field, Sept. 1
There were six starts where left-hander Garrett Crochet reached double-digit strikeouts during his All-Star debut as part of the rotation, and two of his best efforts came at the Astros (Aug. 16) and at the Padres (Sept. 20), when he was on a pitch limit and fell just short of double digits. But Crochet’s seven straight strikeouts to begin his Sept. 1 start at home against the Mets not only were overpowering but also tied a White Sox and American League record for consecutive strikeouts to open a game (Carlos Rodon in 2016, Joe Cowley in 1986 and Blake Snell in 2018). His effort began with Francisco Lindor swinging through a 1-2 four-seamer at 98.9 mph and ended when Luis Torrens grounded out for the second out in the third. — Scott Merkin

Angels: Zach Neto makes history at Yankee Stadium, Aug. 7
Shortstop Zach Neto had a day to remember in the Bronx on Aug. 7, when he went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, a double and six RBIs in an 8-2 win in Game 2 of a doubleheader. He made history, as he became the first visiting shortstop to have six RBIs in a game at any iteration of Yankee Stadium. He also hit a two-run homer in Game 1 of the twin bill and went 3-for-4 in the series opener. It was one of two games with six RBIs for Neto, who was the club’s best player in 2024. — Rhett Bollinger

Astros: Ronel Blanco throws a no-hitter in his first season of ‘24, April 1
Ronel Blanco — a former infielder who switched to pitching at 18 years old and visited several academies in the Dominican Republic before the Astros eventually signed him for $5,000 — threw the 17th no-hitter in franchise history in a 10-0 win over the Blue Jays on April 1. Blanco, making only his eighth Major League start, walked the first batter he faced before sending down 26 Blue Jays in a row. Blanco got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out to second base on his 105th pitch to polish off the first no-hitter of the 2024 season. — Brian McTaggart

Athletics: Lawrence Butler’s second three-homer game puts him in truly elite company, Aug. 29
After bashing three homers against the Reds, his second three-homer game in as many months, Lawrence Butler joined Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner and superstar Mookie Betts as just the third player in MLB history with multiple three-homer games in a season at age 24 or younger. Butler finished that three-game series at Cincinnati by going 7-for-14 with five home runs and eight RBIs. — Martín Gallegos

Mariners: Logan Gilbert throws eight shutout innings vs. Rangers, June 16
For a team built on pitching, there were countless gems throughout the year worth of consideration, and that was even more true for Gilbert, who threw eight shutout innings three different times. But the best of that bunch was an outing at vs. the defending World Series champs in mid-June, when he surrendered just two hits, walked none and struck out nine — catapulting the Mariners to a weekend sweep and an 8 1/2-game lead atop the AL West. That outing helped solidify his first All-Star Game selection a few weeks later. — Daniel Kramer

Rangers: Wyatt Langford hits for the cycle, June 30
The Rangers’ 22-year-old rookie had a slow start to his MLB career, but it all came together in the middle of the summer, specifically on a Sunday night in Baltimore, when he hit for the 11th cycle in Rangers history. It was Texas’ first since Carlos Gómez on April 29, 2017 against the Angels. Langford is the 10th player in Rangers history to accomplish the feat (Adrian Beltré did it twice). — Kennedi Landry

Braves: Travis d’Arnaud highlights three-homer game with a grand slam, April 19
d’Arnaud hit solo homers in the second and fifth innings and then propelled the Braves to an 8-3 win over the Rangers with a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth. This was his second career-three homer game, but it marked the first for a Braves catcher since Dale Murphy tallied one in 1979. The only other Braves players to hit a grand slam during a three-homer game had been Adam Duvall (2020) and Orlando Cepeda (1970). But the significance of this great game was truly realized when d’Arnaud got home, called his father and was reminded he had done this on his late grandfather’s birthday. — Mark Bowman

Marlins: Braxton Garrett tosses a ‘Maddux,’ May 12
Garrett, whose season didn’t start until May 12 because of a left shoulder impingement, had never thrown more than 7 1/3 innings in a start during his professional career. Tasked with dueling 2023 NL Cy Young finalist Zac Gallen and facing the Majors’ top offense against lefties, all Garrett did was record the second shutout on fewer than 100 pitches by a southpaw in franchise history. Honorable mentions go to Xavier Edwards, who recorded the Marlins’ second cycle in club history on July 28 and tallied three triples on Sept. 27. — Christina De Nicola

Mets: The Francisco Lindor Flu Game, May 2
It would be easy to shout out Lindor’s Game 161 homer or Pete Alonso’s Wild Card Series blast, but those were iconic moments — not full-game performances. Then again, perhaps there’s a bit of irony in the fact that Lindor didn’t play a full game on May 2, either. Sidelined by the flu and told to stay home as long as possible, Lindor eventually made his way to Citi Field, entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and immediately hit a two-run double. Five innings later, with the Mets trailing by a run in extras, Lindor hit another two-run double to walk off the Cubs. He finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs in a game he won’t forget anytime soon. — Anthony DiComo

Nationals: Welcome to the Majors, Mitchell Parker, April 15
The rookie southpaw was faced with the tall task of making his Major League debut against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Jackie Robinson Day on April 15. Parker smoothly navigated the eventual 2024 World Series champions. He began his outing by striking out leadoff batter Mookie Betts, and he delivered a 1-2-3 third inning against Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Parker became the first Nats starter to earn a win in his big league debut since Stephen Strasburg in 2010. Such a performance exemplified the development of the Nationals young foundation. — Jessica Camerato

Phillies: Schwarber homers three times in wild win in Toronto, Sept. 3
The Phillies were in a 6-1 hole after the first inning at Rogers Centre, but Kyle Schwarber’s three homers propelled them to a wildly fun and improbable 10-9 victory over the Blue Jays. Schwarber’s three-run homer in the ninth gave the Phillies the lead. Schwarber joined Mike Schmidt as the only players in franchise history to have five hits and three homers in a game. Schmidt did it as part of his record-tying four-homer game on April 17, 1976. — Todd Zolecki

Brewers: Chourio’s two tying homers in NL Wild Card Series G2, Oct. 2
Down a run and down to the final six outs of their season in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Mets, the Brewers against the thought of another first-round postseason exit. Their 20-year-old rookie wasn’t quite ready to go home. Chourio had already delivered one tying home run in the first inning and now he hit another, bringing American Family Field to life before Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead shot in a Brewers victory that forced a decisive Game 3. Chourio became the second-youngest player in MLB history to have a multihomer game in the postseason (Andruw Jones was the youngest) and became only the second rookie in MLB history with a game-tying home run in the eighth inning or later of a postseason game. Derek Jeter did it in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS on the night a 12-year-old fan named Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and became part of baseball lore. — Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: RF Jordan Walker’s five-hit day against the Yankees, Sept. 1
Despite struggles in 2023 and 2024 that led to him being demoted to Triple-A Memphis, Jordan Walker is still held with high esteem in the Cardinals organization – largely because of performances like he had on Sept. 1 at Yankees Stadium. That day, the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Walker bashed Yankees pitch to the tune of 5-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. That performance allowed the 22-year-old Walker to become the youngest Cardinal with a five-hit day since Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby did it as a 21-year-old in 1916, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. — John Denton

Cubs: Ian Happ’s Fourth of July fireworks, July 4
In a 10-2 rout of the Phillies on July 4, Happ produced not only one of the best games of his career, but in Cubs history. The left fielder finished the day 4-for-4 with a pair of three-run homers, accounting for his six RBIs, along with a double and 11 total bases. He joined Derrek Lee (April 27, 2005) and Ed Bailey (July 22, 1965) as the only Cubs batters since at least 1901 to have four hits with at least two homers and six RBIs in no more than four plate appearances in a game. Happ’s showing also helped spark Chicago, which went 44-31 from July 4 through the end of the season. — Jordan Bastian

Pirates: Paul Skenes ends the first half with an exclamation point, July 11
Skenes had otherworldly expectations coming into 2024, but few could have expected him to dominate the way he did out of the gate, earning an All-Star nod after just 10 Major League starts. His 11th start made it clear that he was already one of the game’s best, striking out 11 over seven innings of no-hit ball. Skenes walked and hit a batter in the second, his lone blemishes as he would go on to retire the last 16 Brewers he faced. The Pirates would go on to win, 1-0, and Skenes was named the National League’s starting pitcher the next day. — Alex Stumpf

Reds – De La Cruz has big night vs. the Dodgers, May 16
Dodgers fans waited for hours for their first Shohei Ohtani bobblehead night, which brought added atmosphere but it was Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz who stole the show. In a 7-2 Cincinnati win, De La Cruz went 4-for-4 with a walk, four stolen bases and three runs scored. He became the first Red with four steals in a game since Billy Hamilton in 2016. — Mark Sheldon

D-backs: Pavin Smith rocks Astros for 3 HRs, Sept. 8
Pavin Smith homered in his first at-bat of the game off future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander at Minute Maid Park. It was a sign of things to come for Smith, who had a night that etched him into Diamondbacks lore. In his next at-bat against Verlander, Smith hit a grand slam and in his third at-bat, yep, another homer, this one a solo shot off Kaleb Ort. Smith had two more plate appearances to try for a fourth homer, but he struck out in the seventh and drew a walk in the ninth off closer Josh Hader. In all, Smith was 3-for-4 with three homers and eight RBIs. — Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani took his talents to South Beach, Sept. 19
Ohtani produced a lot of memorable moments during his first season with the Dodgers, but nothing compared to his historic night in Miami. The Japanese superstar delivered one of the best individual performances in baseball history, going 6-for-6 with three homers, 10 RBIs and two stolen bases. Ohtani came within a couple feet of hitting for the cycle. Oh, and in the middle of doing all of that, Ohtani became the first player in Major League history to join the 50-50 club in a single season. Not bad. — Sonja Chen

Giants: Blake Snell’s no-hitter, Aug. 2
Snell had never thrown a complete game before taking the mound against the Reds on Aug. 2, but the two-time Cy Young winner finally managed to go the distance in a dominant performance at Great American Ball Park. Snell struck out 11 and walked three while becoming the first Giants pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Chris Heston in 2015. — Maria Guardado

Padres: Dylan Cease’s no-hitter, July 25
For about a month in the middle of the 2024 season, Cease was as dominant as any pitcher in baseball. Heck, as dominant as any pitcher in baseball history. The exclamation point on that dominance was his no-hitter against the Nationals on July 25 — just the second in Padres history. Cease authored a nine-strikeout gem against Washington, and in the process became the first pitcher since at least 1901 with 30-plus strikeouts and two or fewer hits allowed in a three-outing span. — AJ Cassavell

Rockies: Michael Toglia’s home run trifecta, July 14
The switch-hitting Toglia entered the July 14 game at Citi Field with a .183 batting average, but things were looking up. He’d homered three times in the previous five games, but in the Sunday afternoon finale against the Mets he really showed his swing had arrived. The game was already notable. Earlier in the game, pitcher Germán Márquez – in his only start of the season – achieved his 686th strikeout with the Rockies to eclipse Jorge De La Rosa for the club record. Then Toglia went deep in the fifth and sixth innings against lefty starter Jose Quintana, then switched to the left side and homered in the eighth against Adrian Houser. It was a homer bonanza; Ezequiel Tovar homered twice and Brenton Doyle also homered. The Rockies’ 12 homers against the Mets marked a club record in a three-game road series. — Thomas Harding