Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 42

Dodgers’ Gross no-hits Giants, 26 years ago today

Kevin Gross threw a no-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers, 26 years ago today.

On Monday, August 17, 1992, Gross no-hit the San Francisco Giants for a 2-0 win at Dodger Stadium. Gross walked two batters in the second inning and hit pinch-hitter Mark Leonard with a pitch in the ninth.

Also throwing a no-hitter on this date in 1904 is the Boston Americans’ Jesse Tannehill. On Wednesday, August 17 of that year, Tannehill no-hit the Chicago White Sox for a 6-0 win at Chicago’s South Side Park.

Anniversary of King Felix’s perfecto, Mulholland no-no

Today’s is the six-year anniversary of “King” Felix Hernandez’s perfect game and the 28th anniversary of Terry Mulholland’s no-hitter.

Hernandez threw a perfect game for the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, at Safeco Field, retiring all 27 Tampa Bay Rays he faced. The M’s won 1-0.

Mulholland notched his no-no for the Philadelphia Phillies during a Wednesday, August 15, 1990, game at Veterans Stadium. The Phillies shut out the San Francisco Giants 6-0.

Orioles’ Jim Palmer no-hits A’s, 49 years ago today

Jim Palmer

The Baltimore Orioles’ Jim Palmer no-hit the Oakland Athletics, 49 years ago today.

At Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, August 13, 1969, Palmer no-hit the Oakland Athletics for an 8-0 win. Palmer walked six batters while striking out eight to improve to 11-2 on the season. He finished the year with a 16-4 record and a 2.34 ERA.

Palmer won his Cy Young Awards in 1973, ’75 and ’76.

Happy birthday to Christy Mathewson

Happy 138th birthday to Christy Mathewson, the Hall of Famer who pitched two no-hitters for the New York Giants.

Mathewson, who posted a career record of 373-188 over 17 seasons, threw two no-hitters for the Giants and both came on the road. They are the second and third no-nos in the history of the Giants franchise, which relocated to San Francisco in 1958:

1
Christy Mathewson


 
New York Giants (NL)


 
Monday, July 15, 1901
New York Giants 5, St. Louis Cardinals 0
Robison Field (St. Louis)


2
Christy Mathewson


 
New York Giants (NL)


 
Tuesday, June 13, 1905
New York Giants 1, Chicago Cubs 0
West Side Park (Chicago)

Mathewson played 17 seasons for the Giants, but his playing career actually ended in Cincinnati. On July 20, 1916, the Reds named Mathewson their new player-manager, sending Buck Herzog and Red Killefer to the Giants in exchange for Mathewson, Bill McKechnie and Edd Roush.

Mathewson took the mound just once in a Reds uniform. During the nightcap of a September 4, 1916, doubleheader against the Cubs on “Mordecai Brown Day” at Weeghman Park, Mathewson faced the 40-year-old Brown, another future Hall of Famer, and eked out a 10-8 win. Mathewson gave up eight earned runs on 15 hits for his 373rd career victory.

Willis (may have) no-hit Senators, 119 years ago today

Wire services reports of this game recorded it as a no-hitter, though both the home and away newspaper accounts disagree.

Vic Willis is credited with throwing the second no-hitter for the Braves franchise 119 years ago today, although accounts in both the home and away newspapers recorded this game as a one-hitter.

Willis, pitching for the National League’s Boston Beaneaters at the Huntington Avenue Grounds on Monday, August 7, 1899, no-hit the Washington Senators for a 7-1 win, according to the official no-hitter list.

But The Washington Times had a different take, noting in its sub-headline: “Washington Secures Only One Little Scratch Hit of Willis.

“Dinneen made the only hit off him,” the paper said, “accomplishing this feat in the sixth inning, when he was the first man to bat.”

The Boston Globe agreed, and the headline on Globe sportswriter Tim Murnane’s story read “Only One Hit Off Willis in the Full Nine Innings,” although Murnane said the hit was “was not worth the name.”

Box scores in both the Washington and Boston papers show one hit.

But the wire service accounts and box scores that spread across the nation show the game as a no-hitter, and that’s how it stands in the MLB record books. And people still give me crap about the Carlos Beltran fair/foul call in Johan Santana’s no-hitter!

Beaneasters’ Stivetts no-hits Grooms, 126 years ago today

Jack Stivetts threw a no-hitter for the Boston Beaneaters, 126 years ago today.

On Saturday, August 6, 1892, in front of 7,107 fans at Brooklyn’s Eastern Park, Stivetts no-hit the Brooklyn Grooms for a 11-0 win. Stivetts walked five, and two Grooms reached base on Boston errors.

The “Waterloo defeat,” according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, did not leave Brooklyn “even the sorry excuse of crying out that they ‘were robbed of the game by their umpire.'”

Braves’ Sean Newcomb falls 1 out short of no-no No. 300 vs. Dodgers

The Atlanta Braves’ Sean Newcomb fell one out short of throwing the 300th no-hitter in major-league baseball history on Sunday.

Newcomb struck out eight and walked one over 8 2/3 innings until Chris Taylor singled to left with two out in the ninth inning. After Dan Winkler took over, Taylor took second on defensive indifference and Manny Machado drove him in with a single to left as the Braves topped the Dodgers 4-1.

The last no-hitter thrown by a Braves pitcher was 24 years, 3 months, 21 days ago, and it was against the Dodgers. On Friday, April 8, 1994, at Dodger Stadium, Kent Mercker tossed a no-no for a 6-0 win. Newcomb wasn’t even one year old at the time.

The Dodgers were last no-hit 2 years, 10 months, 30 days ago, when the Chicago Cubs’ Jake Arrieta no-hit L.A. at Dodger Stadium for a 2-0 win.

Newcomb was striving to become the fourth pitcher to toss a no-no wearing No. 15. he would have joined the Chicago White Sox’s Bob Keegan (1957), the Baltimore Orioles’ Hoyt Wilhelm (1958) and the Minnesota Twins Jack Kralick (1962).

Angels’ Santana no-hits Cleveland, 7 years ago today

The Los Angeles Angels’ Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians despite letting the leadoff batter score, seven years ago today.

On Wednesday, July 27, 2011, at Jacobs Field, Santana struck out 10 and walked just one as the Angels beat the Indians 3-1. The Indians scored their run in the first when Ezequiel Carrera reached on an error by Erik Aybar, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch.

Also tossing a no-no on this date in 1885 was the Chicago White Stockings’ John Clarkson. On Monday, July 27, 1885, Clarkson no-hit the Providence Grays for a 4-0 win at Providence’s Messer Street Grounds.

Padres just 100 games shy of Mets’ no no-hitters mark

The San Diego Padres are now just 100 games away from matching the New York Mets’ mark of most games without a no-hitter to start a franchise.

The Mets’ no no-no streak lasted 8,019 regular season games, starting in 1962, until June 1, 2012, when Johan Santana no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field.

At the same ballpark on Wednesday afternoon, as part of a streak dating back to 1969, the Padres reached 7,919 regular-season games without a no-hitter when Kevin Plawecki hit a fifth-inning RBI single off Clayton Richard.

The Mets reached the 7,919 mark on Aug. 5, 2011, when the Atlanta Braves’ Jason Heyward hit a second-inning homer off Dillon Gee as the Braves topped the Mets 6-5.

If a Padres pitcher can’t toss a no-no in the next 100 games, San Diego would surpass New York in late May 2019.

A’s hurler Henley no-hits Browns, 113 years ago today

Weldon Henley threw a Philadelphia Athletics no-hitter, 113 years ago today.

On July 22, 1905, during the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, Henley no-hit the St. Louis Browns for a 6-0 win at St. Louis’ Robison Field.

The St. Louis Republic‘s story from the next morning called Henley a “magnificent specimen of the Southern lad,” saying he took rank with Christy Mathewson and Cy Young and “lifted himself from a mediocre place into the loftiest niche in American pitcherdom.”

He didn’t quite reach the marks set by those two, finishing with a 32-43 record but a respectable 2.94 ERA.