Epic playoff performances

Roy Halladay was congratulated on Thursday from the only other pitcher in Major League history to throw a playoff no-hitter – Don Larsen.

The two men are part of an exclusive club. Global News takes a look at playoff pitching performances that have left an indelible mark in the minds of fans.

Don Larsen, 1956

Friday will be the 54th anniversary of the only perfect game in playoff history – Larsen’s 1956 performance in Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Larsen threw 97 pitches, 70 of them strikes.

Fans held their breath in the fifth inning, as Gil Hodges hit a long ball to left centre field. Mickey Mantle sprinted what seemed a country mile and made a heart-stopping backhand catch to preserve perfection.

The tension grew in Yankee Stadium as the innings wore on and the crowd of over 64,000 rose to its feet in anticipation.

After the last strike was thrown in the ninth inning, catcher Yogi Berra Ran towards Larsen and embraced the right-hander as the stadium erupted in celebration.

"On any given day, any given man can achieve perfection,” said the pitcher.

Whitey Ford, 1960

Ford cemented his legacy as one of the greatest pitchers of all time in the 1960 World Series. The Yankees pitcher threw two complete-game shutouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates and only allowed two batters to get to third base.

The Yankees lost the series – via Bill Mazeroski’s equally historic walk-off home run – but no one was blaming Ford. The lefty would go on to win the Cy Young Award and be voted the World Series MVP in 1961 when the Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974.

Sandy Koufax, 1965

Koufax won his second Cy Young in 1965, going 26-8 and leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series. Koufax battled an arthritic arm going into the championships.

He took a loss to the Minnesota Twins in Game 2, giving up one earned run while striking out nine batters.

It would be the last run the lefty would give up in the series, shutting out the Twins in Game 5 and 7, striking out 10 batters in each game and clinching the championship.

Bob Gibson, 1967

Gibson had a tough season in 1967 – sitting out from July to September with a broken leg – but he was back in the rotation to help the St. Louis Cardinals win the pennant.

The right-hander exploded in the World Series. Gibson pitched three complete-game victories, allowing only three earned runs.

He also hit a home run in Game 7 to seal the victory for the Cardinals.

Jack Morris, 1991

Minnesota Twins ace Jack Morris went up against Atlanta Braves prodigy John Smoltz in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series in one of the greatest pitching battles ever.

Two epic performances on the mound held the teams at a 0-0 tie going in to the eighth inning.

The Braves mounted an offensive strike in the eighth, forcing Morris to work his way out of a two-on, no-out jam.

The game remained scoreless after the ninth inning.

Morris fought fatigue to return to the mound in the tenth. He retired the first three batters to preserve the shutout and allow the Twins to score in the bottom of the inning to win the championship.

Two months later, Morris signed with the Blue Jays where he would win the World Series for the third time in his career in 1992.

Curt Schilling, 2004

One of the most dramatic playoff pitching performances in history was so memorable it was commemorated in an exhibition at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. With a bloody sock.

The red-stained sock was donated by Curt Schilling, after the Boston Red Sox pitcher beat the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS with an injured ankle.

Schilling had a loose right ankle tendon, and was only able to play the game after doctors sutured the tendon to the bone.

The Sox would go on to win that series in a historic comeback that saw them down 3-0 to their hated Yankee rivals.

The right-hander would have the same procedure again a few days later in order to play in Game 2 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, a series they won, ending the team’s fabled eight-decade series drought.