Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 24

Wall Street Journal story on Padres’ no no-no streak

Wall Street Journal national baseball writer Jared Diamond penned a great history today on the San Diego Padres’ futility in no-hitters.

Check out the story here. I’m honored to be quoted alongside former MLBers Randy Jones, Tim Flannery and Chris Young, and super excited to hear the perspective of former Padres reliever Jack Baldschun, who gave up the hit in the KIrby game after Clay got pulled by Preston Gómez.

The Padres have five games left to avoid reaching the New York Mets’ 8,019-game record, which ended when Johan Santana no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals on June 1, 2012. Game 1 of a three-game series against the Rockies starts in Denver tonight before the Padres head to L.A. for two against the Dodgers.

Game 8,020 is scheduled at home next Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

No-no and a cycle in Germany, 5 years ago today

Over a near century and a half of major league baseball, there has never been a game that featured both a no-hitter and a hit for the cycle.

It happened in Germany’s Baseball-Bundesliga five years ago today.

On Saturday, May 10, 2014, during the first game of doubleheader at Manheim’s Roberto Clemente Field, the Haar Disciples’ Lucas Steinlein no-hit the Mannheim Tornados for an 11-0 eight-inning victory, striking out six and walking two.

Steinlein’s teammate Joshua Petersen helped provide the offense, hitting for the cycle during the game.

Toney tosses 17-inning minor-league no-no, 110 years ago today

Fred Toney threw a 17-inning … yes 17-INNING … no-hitter in the Bluegrass League, 110 years ago today.

Pitching for Winchester on May 10, 1909, Toney held Lexington to zero hits over 17 frames while striking out 19 batters, walking one, hitting another and seeing four base runners reach on errors. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 17th, with opposing pitcher Baker (first name unknown) scattering seven hits. Winchester won the game on a walk-off suicide squeeze.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 17th, with opposing pitcher Baker (first name unknown) scattering seven hits. Winchester won the game on a walk-off suicide squeeze.

Toney, a Nashville-born right-hander, is no stranger to close no-nos. He is, of course, is the winning pitcher in Major League Baseball’s only nine-inning double no-no. On Wednesday, May 2, 1917, at Chicago’s Weeghman Park, Toney threw a 10-inning no-hitter against the Cubs for a 1-0 victory. The Cubs’ starter, Hippo Vaughn, threw a nine-inning no-hitter but lost the game in the 10th.

ABCs’ Dismukes no-hits Chicago Giants, 104 years ago today

The Indiandapolis ABCs’ Dizzy Dismukes threw a no-hitter against the Chicago Giants, 104 years ago today.

On Sunday, May 9, 1915, no-hit the Giants at Northwestern Park for a 5-0 win. Only two runners reached base, one on a hit batsman and one on an error, according to newspaper accounts, and Dismukes pitched 1-2-3 innings in seven of the nine frames.

According to James Riley’s superb The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, Dismukes was a right-handed submariner and was regarded as one of the leagues’ best pitchers during the 1910s and early 1920s. A “smart, studious college man with a wonderful memory,” Dismukes was a master strategist who would shift his fielders to play where the ball was going to be hit, the Encyclopedia noted.

Padres head to hitter-friendly Coors Field in search of no-no

Feature photo: Nice Night at Coors Field by Kari Sullivan licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The San Diego Padres have just five more chances to avoid reaching the New York Mets’ 8,019-game record for no-hit futility, and three of those games will be played in the majors’ most hitter-friendly park. The good news is that the Padres are one of just four major league teams to allow one hit or less at circa-1995 Coors Field.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hideo owns the only no-no in Coors Field history, but there have been six one-hitters — including one by the Padres.

On Monday, September 19, 2011, Padres starter Cory Luebke threw 5⅔ innings of no-hit ball before the Rockies’ Mark Ellis hit a two-run home run over the center-field wall for the 6,834th Padres game with no no-hitter. Luebke stayed in through the seventh, and Ernesto Frieri threw two innings of perfect ball in relief as the Padres topped the Rockies 8-2 for a combined two-hitter.

The Padres have three games at Coors Field — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — then two at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to Petco Park next Thursday. If the Padres can’t throw a no-no, the team would tie the Mets mark of 8,019 regular-season games without a no-hitter on Wednesday in L.A. and break the mark at home Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. NoNoHitters.com will be at both.

Here are all the games of one hit or less thrown at Coors Field:

No-hitter at Coors Field







Hideo Nomo



Colorado Rockies



Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Los Angeles Dodgers 9, Colorado Rockies 0










One-hitters at Coors Field






1
Jon Gray (7)
Adam Ottavino (1)
Wade Davis (1)



Colorado Rockies



Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Spoiler: José Altuvé, one-out RBI double off Gray in the fourth.

Colorado Rockies 3, Houston Astros 2



2
Kyle Freeland (8⅓)
Jordan Lyles (⅔)



Colorado Rockies



Sunday, July 9, 2017

Spoiler: Melky Cabrera, one-out single to left off Freeland in the ninth.

Colorado Rockies 10, Chicago White Sox 0



3
Cory Luebke (7)
Ernesto Frieri (2)



San Diego Padres



Monday, September 19, 2011

Spoiler: Mark Ellis, two-run homer to center off Luebke with two outs in the sixth inning, marking Padres no no-hitter No. 6,834.

San Diego Padres 8, Colorado Rockies 2



4
Roy Oswalt



Houston Astros



Saturday, September 6, 2008

Spoiler: Brad Hawpe, single up the middle to lead off the sixth inning.

Houston Astros 2, Colorado Rockies 0



5
Jason Jennings (7)
Tom Martin (1)
Brian Fuentes (1)



Colorado Rockies



Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Spoiler: Jason Kendall, leadoff single to right in the first inning.

Colorado Rockies 6, Oakland Athletics 0



6
Pat Rapp



Florida Marlins



Sunday, September 17, 1995

Spoiler: Dante Bichette, single to short with two outs in the fourth inning.

Florida Marlins 17, Colorado Rockies 0

Padres’ Ready breaks up no-no in 9th, 31 years ago today

Randy Ready helped the San Diego Padres avoid getting no-hit for the third time, 31 years ago today.

On May 8, 1988, during a day game at Three Rivers Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Doug Drabek was no-hitting the Friars through eight innings, striking out four and walking two. Ready led off the ninth with a ground ball up the middle that was knocked down by shortstop Al Pedrique, but Pedrique’s throw to first was late, killing the no-no.

After Roberto Alomar followed with a fly-out, Marvell Wynne hit a two-run home run to kill the shutout, but the Padres lost 6-2. On the other side of the ball, Randy Jones gave up a second-inning single to Bobby Bonilla for Padres no no-hitter No. 3,045.

The Padres still have no no-hitters; they’ve been no-hit 10 times.

Paxton no-hits Blue Jays, 1 year ago today

James Paxton no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays, one year ago today.

Paxton, a native of Ladner, British Columbia pitching for the Seattle Mariners, walked three and struck out seven at Rogers Centre on May 8, 2018, to become the first Canadian to throw an MLB no-hitter in Canada. The 5-0 victory marked Major League’s Baseball’s 299th no-hitter, and baseball is still awaiting the historic 300th MLB no-no.

Kyle Seager made the most important defensive play of the effort, diving for a ball down the third-base line and quickly throwing to first for the seventh inning’s third out.

Paxton now pitches for the New York Yankees.

Mike Fiers tosses 2nd career no-no, MLB No. 300

The Oakland Athletics’ Mike Fiers tossed his second career no-hitter on Tuesday, the 300th of such feats in major-league history.

Fiers, who threw 131 pitches, walked two, struck out six and yielded zero hits en route to a 2-0 win at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. It was a late night, as a malfunctioning light tower in left field delayed the start time by an hour and 38 minutes.

Two defensive gems helped keep a zero in the Reds’ H column. With two outs in the sixth, second-baseman Jurickson Profar ran out to right to make a diving catch on a Kyle Farmer blooper. Then, in the next at-bat, Joey Votto launched a ball poised to clear the left side of the center-field fence, but Ramón Laureano pulled it back in for the inning’s third out.

Fiers wore uniform No. 50 for this second no-no, joining Kent Mercker in the No. 50 club. His first no-hitter came on Friday, August 21, 2015 when Fiers was a member of the Houston Astros wearing No. 54. In that game, he threw 134 pitches to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park for a 3-0 win.

The last Oakland Athletics no-no was thrown 1 year, 16 days ago by Sean Manaea, a 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The last no-no against the Cincinnati Reds was 3 years, 16 days ago by the Chicago Cubs’ Jake Arrieta, s 16-0 win at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Fiers tosses 2nd career no-no, No. 300 in MLB history

The Oakland Athletics’ Mike Fiers tossed his second career no-hitter on Tuesday, the 300th of such feats in major-league history.

Fiers, who threw 131 pitches, walked two, struck out six and yielded zero hits en route to a 2-0 win at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Fiers, wearing No. 50 for this second no-no, joins Kent Mercker in the No. 50 club.

Fiers’ first no-hitter came on Friday, August 21, 2015 when he was a member of the Houston Astros. He no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park for a 3-0 win. Fiers wore No. 54 for that one and threw 134 pitches.

The last Oakland Athletics no-no was thrown 1 year, 16 days ago by Sean Manaea, a 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The last no-no against the Cincinnati Reds was 3 years, 16 days ago by the Chicago Cubs’ Jake Arrieta, s 16-0 win at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Verlander tosses 2nd no-no, 8 years ago today

Justin Verlander threw his second career no-hitter, eight years ago today.

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, while pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Verlander no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays for a 9-0 victory at the Rogers Centre. Verlander walked just one batter in the eighth inning while striking out four. Verlander, who now pitches for the Houston Astros, threw his first no-hitter on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, at Comerica Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Also throwing a no-no on this date is the New York Giants’ Jesse Barnes.

Barnes no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies at the Polo Grounds on Sunday, May 7, 1922 for a 6-0 win. Barnes faced the minimum 27 batters, walking Cy Williams in the fifth inning but retiring him and batter Art Fletcher on a double play. Philadelphia coaches asked for the game ball in the middle of the seventh inning and showed umpire Bob Hart several cuts, prompting Hart to throw it out of the game.