league complete game on April 16 against the Washington Senators. McDowell gave up just two hits while striking out 13, but his control continued to be an issue as he also walked seven hitters. Although he improved his ERA to 4.85 and his BB/9 to 6.1 while increasing his K/9 to 8.7, McDowell was sent down to the Indians top farm club (now the Jacksonville Suns) at the end of June and spent the rest of the season there. He also threw seven wild pitches, ninth-most in the league, despite only pitching 65 innings. 1964: Breakout season In 1964, the Indians again switched farm teams, this time assigning McDowell to the Portland Beavers. McDowell started out the season on fire, winning all eight of his decisions in only nine starts, including a no-hitter, with an impressive ERA of 1.18. Perhaps more impressively for Sam, he struck out 102 batters while walking just 24 in 76 innings. Once again, he was called up to the majors. It would be the last time McDowell would spend in the minor leagues. After winning a game in relief on May 31, McDowell pitched a complete game on June 2 against the Chicago White Sox, beating the White Sox 3-2. In a sign that his control might be coming around, he walked just three in the game while striking out 14. He continued to show flashes of brilliance during the season, finishing with a record of 11-6 with an ERA of 2.70, seventh-best in the American League. He also led the league in K/9 with 9.2, striking out 177 in 173.1 innings. His strikeout total was good for eighth in the AL. His BB/9 also continued to improve, dropping to 5.2, although he still walked an even 100 hitters, the fourth-highest total in the league. 1965: All-Star In 1965, McDowell was selected to the All-Star team, the first of six such selections over his career. He pitched two innings in the 1965 All-Star Game and wound up taking the loss for the AL. At the end of the year, "Sudden Sam" was at the top of several American League leader lists, including ERA (2.18), strikeouts (325), K/9 (10.7), Hits per nine innings (5.9) and home runs per nine innings (0.3). The strikeout total stands as the second-highest in franchise history to Bob Feller's 348 in 1946. His 273 innings pitched were second only to the