Advertisement

Finally! Shelby Miller ends 24-start winless streak on season's final day

(AP)
(AP)

Shelby Miller's long personal nightmare is over.

On the final day of the regular season, the Atlanta Braves right-hander finally got back in the win column, snapping a personal 24-start winless streak that dates back to May 17. Believe it or not, he's actually been a good pitcher this season, despite his bad luck in the win-loss column.

[Play a Daily Fantasy contest for cash today!]

For those scoring at home, Miller's last win came three-quarters of the season ago. It's also more than one-third of the calendar year ago. To be exact, it was 140 days ago, which is a long time to go without a victory handshake from the pitching coach. It also goes down as the Braves longest single-season winless streak in franchise history.

Unfortunately, that's been Miller's reality this season. But at least it ends on a high note. Miller earned every bit of his win on Sunday, holding his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, to three hits over eight scoreless innings. The Braves bullpen took things from there, wrapping up the 6-0 win as they took the first half of Sunday's doubleheader.

Miller also owes a big thank you to Adonis Garcia. The Braves third baseman cracked two home runs in the win. Andrelton Simmons added a two-run shot.

We celebrate this victory for Shelby Miller understanding that the win stat is completely overrated. In fact, Miller's string of bad luck only solidifies that notion. During that stretch, he went 0-16 despite posting a very respectable 3.83 ERA. If you throw out the month of September, where he's admittedly struggled, it's 0-11 with a 3.13 ERA.

We're happy, because we just kinda feel bad for the guy. He's deserved a better fate this season, but those in the know understand that Miller is a solid pitcher who will help the Braves for years to come. Nothing about that has changed, and Braves fans should be excited to have him.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports
Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed

- - - - - - -

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!