In vintage Moyer form, he got only 5 strikeouts in 8 innings, but managed to get 14 of his other 19 outs on ground balls, while only 5 were fly outs.  He only gave up 2 hits and a walk, although one of those hits was a record-setting home run.  Russell Branyan’s home run in the 2nd gave Moyer 505 home runs allowed in his career, tied for most all-time.  Although its a dubious distinction, it is a testament to Moyer’s longevity.  The win lowers Jamie’s ERA to 4.43 and runs his record this season to 8-6.  He now has 266 career wins, tying him for 35th on the all-time list.

The Phillies are still 4.5 games back of the red-hot Braves and Mets, but performances like Moyer’s will be key to the team’s success down the stretch.  In the high-scoring NL East, great pitching is at a premium.  Last night’s “Stat Line of the Night” goes to Jamie Moyer.

It is tough for such an aged arm to go the complete game, but Moyer did enough in his seven innings of work to warrant our recognition.  During his time on the mound, he allowed only one hit, one walk, and struck out four, leading the Phillies to the 4-0 victory.  Such a performance earned him his ninth victory along with “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Thursday, July 16th, 2009.

That was just the start that Philadelphia was looking for.  In a critical series to begin their second-half defense of top spot in the NL East, they will need to set the tone against the second place Marlins.  That win now puts them 5 games up and stretches their winning streak to six games.

The wait for Randy to reach the milestone has been that much more important because of the magnitude of it.  Many baseball gurus are firm believers that we have just witnessed the last pitcher to reach 300 wins.  With all the worries these days about pitch counts and wearing out starting pitchers (whom teams often invest boat-loads of money into), such predictions are likely to be true.

Johnson pitched six innings against the lowly Washington Nationals, allowing just two hits and one run in 78 pitches, and he even made a great defensive play in his final inning to help preserve the 2-1 lead.  The Giants bats would add a couple more runs in the 9th to make it 5-1, and after reliever Brian Wilson recorded the final out in the 9th, it was celebration time.  Randy had his family in attendance and couldn’t be happier to share the moment with them:

It’s nice to have this moment with my family and friends that came.  It’s the coolest moment to be able to share something with my son. I’m just sad my dad wasn’t here. He wasn’t able to see my games the last 17 years, but he’s up there watching.” [Fox Sports]

So who is up next for the milestone?  The closest pitcher at this point is Jamie Moyer, but he is 46-years-old, and with 250 wins, it is unlikely he will be reaching 300 unless he pitches past 50.  Don’t count on that. Following him are Andy Pettitte (220) and John Smoltz (210), but they remain a long distance away and age is not on their side.

With five-man rotations and increased use of the bullpen in the current MLB, it will be difficult to imagine seeing 300 victories again.  So take in this moment, because you very likely may have just seen the last pitcher to ever reach the 300 win mark.