Posted by Bill Baer on Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 9:07 pm

It was fun while it lasted. The Oakland Athletics’ rookie reliever with the unusual delivery started his career with 39 consecutive scoreless innings, tying Al Benton of the 1949 Cleveland Indians. Grover Cleveland Alexander has the overall record with 41 consecutive scoreless innings to start his career, set in 1911. The streak ended in the ninth inning of tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The secret to Ziegler’s success isn’t anything eye-opening or mind-blowing. His 4.03 K/9 and 2.61 BB/9 are unimpressive and with a .189 BABIP/.260 xBABIP, one could make the case that it was only a matter of time until he was given a bruise anyway. His propensity for inducing ground balls is impressive, as they make up 70% of batted balls against him. He relies heavily on his defense, and with an .861 RZR, the Athletics are the best in the American League in that regard. As a result, his 0.00 ERA going into tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays contrasts with his 3.12 FIP. Still not bad, though.

He came into tonight’s game and pitched a perfect eighth inning, and manager Bob Geren asked him to come out and pitch the ninth as well. It’s common for Ziegler to be used for more than one inning, as 14 of his 29 appearances have been multiple inning stints. In the ninth inning, he got the first out, but then allowed a single to Akinori Iwamura and a double to B.J. Upton. Iwamura scored, and the streak was over. Unfazed, Ziegler intentionally walked Carlos Pena both to avoid his power and to set up the double play, then got Cliff Floyd to — you guessed it — ground into a double play.

Is Ziegler a potential Rookie of the Year award winner? He ranks sixth among all rookie pitchers in VORP, and in the A.L., he only trails Joba Chamberlain and Armando Galarraga, both starters. On the offensive side of things, Evan Longoria appears to be a runaway favorite despite his recent injury, and Ziegler would still have to beat out Mike Aviles of Kansas City. It’s unlikely, but he’s been such an intriguing story that it’s not impossible.