Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 17

Padres’ Hurst takes Opening Day no-no into 7th, 30 years ago today

The San Diego Padres’ Bruce Hurst took an Opening Day no-hitter bid into the seventh inning, 30 years ago today.

On April 9, 1990, Hurst took the mound in the 7th inning with a zero in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ H column before Hubie Brooks led off with a single to center. Hurst gave up four earned runs in the 4-2 loss, as the no no-hitter count advanced to 3,341 games.

The Padres’ Randy Jones reached the sixth with a no-no intact exactly 14 years earlier.

On April 9, 1976, Jones walked two Atlanta Braves in the first inning before retiring the next 14 batters. With one out in the sixth, Braves manager Dave Bristol sent Cito Gaston to the plate, and the former Friar dropped a one-out single into center field to kill the no-hitter. Jones finished the night at San Diego Stadium with a five-hit complete-game win, as the Padres defeated Atlanta 8-2 while the no no-hitter count advanced to 1,125 games.

Padres no no-no streak turns 51

The San Diego Padres’ no no-hitters streak celebrates its 51st birthday today.

On Tuesday April 8, 1969, in the franchise’s first game, Padres starter Dick Selma gave up a leadoff single to right to the Houston Astros’ Jesús Alou, starting the no no-hitters streak at 1. The Padres have since added 8,137 regular-season games, and 34 post-season games, to that mark, holding onto the major-league record for no-hit futility.

The Padres’ no no-hitters count could have been at 8,149 this morning had the MLB season started on time (and assuming that the Friars were unable to break the streak). The count currently sits at 8,138 as baseball pauses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The New York Mets were the longstanding owners of the no-hit futility mark but exited the club on June 1, 2012, when the Johan Santana no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals after 8,019 games without a no-hitter. The Padres passed the Mets mark last May.

On the day the Padres’ streak was born, the Mets’ no no-hitters count reached 1,137 as Bob Bailey of the Montreal Expos tagged Tom Seaver for a first-inning RBI double.

Forsch (’79), Morris (’84) tossed no-nos on this date

The Houston Astros’ Ken Forsch and the Detroit Tigers’ Jack Morris threw no-hitters on this date.

On Saturday, April 7, 1979, at the Astrodome, Forsch no-hit the Atlanta Braves for a 6-0 win. Paired with brother Bob’s St. Louis Cardinals no-hitter a year earlier, the Forsch duo became the only siblings to toss major-league no-hitters. (Bob would add another in ’83.) Check out SABR member Nelson ‘Chip’ Greene’s great story on Ken’s no-hitter.

Morris threw his on Saturday, April 7, 1984, at Comiskey Park. He no-hit the Chicago White Sox for a 4-0 win, walking six while striking out eight. Morris’ no-no broke a 26-year Tigers drought dating back to Jim Bunning’s no-hitter in 1958.

Camagüey’s González tosses Cuba’s 8th ’68 no-no, 52 years ago today

Florentino González threw a no-hitter for Camagüey 52 years ago today, the eighth of such feats accomplished during the 1967-’68 season of Cuba’s Serie Nacional de Beisebol.

On Thursday, April 4, 1968, at Camagüey’s Estadio Cándido González, González no-hit Matanzas for a 1-0 victory.

The MLB record for no-hitters in a season is seven, accomplished in 1991, 2012 and 2015.

Here are the eight Serie Nacional de Beisebol during the ’67-’68 season (there was actually another no-hitter during the ’68 calendar year, but it came during the ’68-’69 season):

1
Leopoldo Valdés



Havana



Sunday, January 7, 1968
Havana 5, Pinar del RÍo 0
Estadio Latinoamericano (Havana)
With Pérez’s no-no below, first time no-hitters were thrown on same day


2
Jesús Pérez



Industriales



Sunday, January 7, 1968
Industriales 5, Vegueros 0
Estadio 26 de Julio (Artemisa)
With Valdés’ no-no above, first time no-hitters were thrown on same day


3
Douglas Sorriba



Granjeros



Tuesday, January 9, 1968
Granjeros 4, Henequeneros 1
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)


4
José Antonio Huelga



Azucareros



Sunday, January 14, 1968
Azucareros 1, Granjeros 0
Estadio Augusto César Sandino (Santa Clara)


5
Douglas Sorriba



Granjeros



Tuesday, January 16, 1968
Granjeros 4, Vegueros 1
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)


6
Orlando Figueredo



Oriente



Thursday, January 25 ,1968
Oriente 1, Azucareros 0
Ciudad Deportiva (Santiago de Cuba)


7
Florentino Alfonso



Granjeros



Saturday, March 16, 1968
Camagüey 1, Granjeros 0 (A Granjeros loss)
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)
Only no-hitter for a loss in Cuban history


8
Florentino González



Camagüey



Thursday, April 4, 1968
Camagüey 1, Matanzas 0
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)

Nomo no-no No. 2, 19 years ago today

Today is the 19th anniversary of MLB’s earliest regular-season no-hitter.

On Wednesday, April 4, 2001, during the Boston Red Sox’s second game of the season, Hideo Nomo no-hit the Baltimore Orioles for a 3-0 win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The Cleveland Indians’ Bob Feller threw baseball’s only Opening Day no-no, but it came on Tuesday, April 16, 1940.

Nomo’s no-hitter against Baltimore was his second no-no. On Tuesday, September 17, 1996, when Nomo was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he no-hit the Colorado Rockies for a 9-0 win at Coors Field.

Feature photo キャッチボール開始 by Ryosuke Yagi under Creative Commons license CC-BY-2.0

Dickson one of just 3 to throw 9-inning spring no-nos

72 years ago today, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Murry Dickson accomplished something that has been matched by just two other major-league pitchers: He tossed a 9-inning no-hitter in spring training.

On Tuesday, March 30, 1948. at St. Petersburg, Florida’s Al Lang Stadium, Dickson no-hit the New York Yankees for 7-0 win. He walked five batters, hit one and struck out six. The Cardinals scored all of their runs in the first inning off Bill Bevens in a rally that included a 3-run home run by Stan “The Man” Musial.

Only two other pitchers threw 9-inning no-hitters in spring games.

On Sunday, April 9, 1939, at New Orleans’ Pelican Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Cy Blanton no-hit the Cleveland Indians for a 6-0 win. Blanton allowed just one base runner, walking Earl Averill in the sixth inning.

And on Friday, April 4, 1952, at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Steve Ridzik no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals for a 3-0 win. Ridzik was wild, hitting three batters and walking three others while striking out just two.

Dock Ellis born 75 years ago today

Happy birthday to Dock Ellis, the only major league pitcher known to throw a no-hitter under the influence of LSD.

Ellis, who would have been 75 today, threw the no-no for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, June 12, 1970, during the first game of doubleheader against the Padres at San Diego Stadium. The pitcher acknowledged taking LSD the day of the game, as he was under the impression that the Pirates had a day off.

You can read all about this accomplishment in Chapter 19 of Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders: More Than a Century of Pitching’s Greatest Feats, “The Acid-Washed No-No.”

Ellis, who later in life overcame drug issues and became a drug counselor, died in 2008.

9 Braves combine for 10-inn. no-no, 5 years ago today

Nine Atlanta Braves pitchers teamed up for a Spring Training 10-inning no-hitter against the Houston Astros, five years ago today.

On Sunday, March 8, 2015, Cody Martin (2), Jim Johnson (1), Josh Outman (1), Brandon Cunniff (1), Ian Thomas (1), Mauricio Cabrera (1), Lucas Sims (1), Justin Jackson (1), Jairo Heredia (1) combined to allow two earned runs on nine walks while striking out nine at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida, in a 10-inning game that ended in a 2-2 tie.

The Astros’ runs came in the seventh inning when Cabrera walked the first two batters he faced and hit another, then issued a fielder’s choice and an RBI groundout. An A.J. Pierzynski RBI single in the first inning and a Todd Cunningham sacrifice fly in the eighth provided the Braves’ runs.

Note that only one official major league no-hitter ended in a tie, way back in 1884, and that one also lasted 10 innings. In that Oct. 4 game, the Brooklyn Atlantics’ Sam Kimber no-hit the Toledo Blue Stockings in an American Association game at Brooklyn’s Washington Park called with a score of 0-0.

The Braves are the undisputed king of spring no-hitters. The franchise notched two spring no-nos while representing Boston:

On Tuesday, March 4, 1947, Jim Bilbrey (3), Sam Zoldak (4) and Mulbrey Sanford (1) no-hit the St. Louis Browns at Westside Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.On Sunday, April 6, 1952, Warren Spahn (7) and Ernie Johnson (3) no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers at City Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.

While representing Milwaukee, Dick Kelley (3), Larry Maxie (3) and Phil Niekro (3) no-hit the University of MIami on Saturday, February 29, 1964, for a 1-0 win at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium.

And while representing Atlanta, the Braves threw a total of four spring hitters, including these three others:

On Monday, March 11, 1974, at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, Ron Reed (3), Dave Cheadle (2), Joe Grzenda (2) and Jamie Easterly (2) no-hit the New York Yankees for a 4-0 win.On Monday, March 6, 1995, during the replacement players spring season, Jose Alvarez (3), Phil Harrison (2), Eric Mora (2), Keith Brown (1) and Daren Brown (1) no-hit the Replacement New York Mets for a 5-0 win at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium.On Wednesday, March 2, 2005, Zach Miner (2), Daniel Curtis (2), Macey McBride (2), Anthony Lerew (2), Kevin Berry (1) on-hit Georgia Tech for a 12- win at Cracker Jack Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida.

Of course Spring Training no-hitters don’t count, but here are the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves no-hitters that do count: Braves No-hitters.

Today’s the 25th anniversary of MLB’s only replacement no-no

A quintet of replacement Atlanta Braves pitchers no-hit the New York Replacemets, 25 years ago today.

Spring Training 1995 began with replacement players because of a players’ strike called in August.

On Monday, March 6, 1995, in front of some 800 fans at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, Jose Alvarez (3 inn.), Phil Harrison (2 inn.), Eric Mora (2 inn.), Keith Brown (1 inn.) and Daren Brown (1 inn.) combined to no-hit a bunch of guys in Mets uniforms for a 5-0 victory. Replacement Braves second-baseman Sean Davisson made a one-out diving stop on a ground ball hit by the Replacemets’ Brian Daubach in the ninth to save the no-no.

The New York Times asked Mets manager Dallas Green if he knew the five pitchers who tossed the no-hitter.

“No – and I don’t care, either,” Green told the Times. “All I know is a lot of them were named Brown.”

The 1994-’95 strike, which was lifted on April 2, canceled 948 games, including the 1994 postseason.

Check out our full list of Spring Training no-hitters here.

Browns trio no-hits Braves for loss, 73 years ago today

Today is the 73rd anniversary of the only no-hit loss in Spring Training history.

On March 4, 1947, at Fort Lauderdale’s Westside Park, the St. Louis Browns’ Jim Bilbrey tossed three innings of no-hit ball against the Boston Braves before turning the ball over to Sam Zoldak for the fourth. Zoldak gave up two runs in the fourth on a pair of walks, an error, a bases-loaded fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly.

Zoldak held the Braves runless and hitless through the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, as the Browns pulled within one on a sixth-inning RBI double by Bob Dillinger. Zoldak handed the ball to Mulbrey Sanford for the eighth and Sanford did his job, but the Browns couldn’t plate a runner in the top of the ninth inning and lost 2-1.

The game is the only no-hit loss in Spring Training history (See our full list of Spring Training no-hitters) but because the Braves didn’t have to bat in the ninth, this would not be considered a no-hitter under the 1991 definition clarification. These “No-hitters lost by the away team in which the game ended after 8 1/2 innings” feats are super rare, as there have only been four regular-season examples over the majors’ 130-plus-year history.