Who Needs Lefties?

With just seventeen games to go this season, the St. Louis Cardinals have used only two lefthanded pitchers, Trever Miller and Dennys Reyes. Miller and Reyes are the only lefties on their current roster, so it is unlikely a third lefty will make an appearance for the club.

Since expansion in 1961, only nineteen other teams have made it through a season with only two lefthanders:

• 1961 Baltimore Orioles: Steve Barber & Billy Hoeft
• 1965 Boston Red Sox: Dennis Bennett & Arnold Earley
• 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers: Jim Brewer & Claude Osteen
• 1971 Montreal Expos: Dan McGinn & John O'Donoghue
• 1974 Montreal Expos: Terry Enyart & Balor Moore
• 1976 Oakland Athletics: Vida Blue & Paul Lindblad
• 1977 Houston Astros: Floyd Bannister & Joe Sambito
• 1981 Cincinnati Reds: Charlie Liebrandt & Joe Price
• 1982 Chicago Cubs: Willie Hernandez & Ken Kravec
• 1982 Toronto Blue Jays: Jerry Garvin & Dave Geisel
• 1983 Cincinnati Reds: Joe Price & Bill Scherrer
• 1983 Toronto Blue Jays: Stan Clarke & Dave Geisel
• 1984 Chicago Cubs: Ron Meridith & Steve Trout
• 1993 Los Angeles Dodgers: Omar Daal & Steve Wilson
• 1996 Chicago Cubs: Larry Casian & Bob Patterson
• 2004 Anaheim Angels: Dusty Bergman & Jarrod Washburn
  
• 2006 LAnaheim Angels: J.C. Romero & Joe Saunders
  
• 2007 LAnaheim Angels: Darren Oliver & Joe Saunders
• 2008 LAnaheim Angels: Darren Oliver & Joe Saunders

With Brian Fuentes newly installed as closer, it took the Angels until the second game of the 2009 season to have three different lefties pitch.

The 1947 Philadelphia Athletics were the last team to use only one lefty. Lou Brissie started all of one game that year, allowing five runs in seven innings.