When Hall of Fame left-hander Carl Hubbell set baseball’s all-time consecutive scoreless innings record at 45.1 innings on August 1, 1933, many (most) baseball historians believed that such an incredibly difficult record would never fall.

It did.

On June 8, 1968, Dodgers Hall of Fame right-hander Don Drysdale bested Hubbell’s mark substantially when he tossed 58.2 consecutive scoreless inning. And just like Hubbell’s record, many (most) baseball historians believed that Big D’s record would never fall either.

It did.

On September 28, 1988, Dodgers right-hander Orel Hershiser squeaked past Drysdale when he threw 59.0 consecutive scoreless inning for sole possession of a record that has stood for nearly 30 years and one that many (most) baseball historians once again believe will never fall.

It might.

On Friday night, during a rather interesting game between the Dodgers and Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium, 26-year-old hard-throwing left-hander Alex Wood with his unique delivery that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts calls “funky,” tossed 7.1 scoreless innings to collect his fifth win of the season (against no losses) and lowering his ERA to a team and MLB-best 1.88, and in the process brought his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 20.1. And while 20.1 scoreless innings is a far cry from 59.0 scoreless innings, you can’t get to 59.0 without first getting to 20.1 consecutive scoreless innings.

“Alex was obviously really good tonight, very efficient, pounded the strike zone,” Roberts told reporters after the game. “He’s got that three-pitch mix and it’s working in all quadrants, it’s very good.”

While it may be hard to argue that Alex Wood’s unorthodox delivery isn’t “funky,” as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts calls it, it is impossible to argue that it isn’t extremely effective.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Unlike his last start when he struck out 10 batters (and 11 in the game before that), Wood struck out only four batters on Friday night. But what he did do was induce 14 ground ball outs, including four absolutely huge double plays while allow zero fly ball outs against a fly-ball-hitting team.

“He obviously put the ball on the ground and got some double plays – big double plays – when we needed them,” Roberts said.

Wood humbly agreed with his manager’s assessment.

“It was nice to get some double play balls tonight. Woody [Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward] does a great job with all our (defensive) shifts and all that,” said the extremely polite Charlotte, North Carolina native. “I don’t think I’ve had one all year so it was definitely nice to have a few tonight.”

Wood acknowledges that he is pitching much better after his injury-plagued 2016 season that, at one point, landed him on the 60-day disabled list for left elbow soreness.

“I feel good. I kind of like every fifth day, there’s some consistency that’s been there,” Wood said. “I kind of threw a few bad ones tonight but overall I thought my fastball command was pretty good tonight and made some pitches when we needed to … I felt like I was kind of hitting my stride last year before I got hurt, and then overall the consistency of my stuff is probably the best it’s been since ’14, when I had a pretty good year. I feel really good, I feel confident and we’re winning games, so that’s always nice too.”

Speaking of hurt, does Wood feel that he 100 percent healthy now?

“Yeah, I feel great, knock on wood [no pun intended]. I feel good, I’m just going to stay in my routine and get ready for my next one.”

Although Wood made no mention whatsoever about his current consecutive scoreless innings streak, nor was he asked about it, you can bet that Dodger fans and the media will soon begin talking about it more and more as it continues.

…especially by a certain former player and current SportsNet LA broadcaster / analyst named Orel Hershiser.