Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 51
April 21, 2018
Athletics’ Manaea no-hits Red Sox
The Oakland Athletics’ Sean Manaea no-hit the Boston Red Sox on Saeturday night, the 297th no-hitter in MLB history.
Manaea struck out 10 and walked two en route to a 3-0 no-hit victory at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Another Red Sox base runner reached base in the fifth inning on an error by A’s shortstop Marcus Semein, who failed to make an over-the-shoulder snag of a fly ball that could have easily been called a hit. Manaea had assumed it was ruled a hit, so he didn’t realize his no-hitter was still intact until the eighth inning.
Manaea was the beneficiary of another generous call in the sixth inning on what appeared to be an infield single by Andrew Benintendi, whose roundabout head-first slide into first avoided a tag by first baseman Matt Olson. The umpires huddled up and ruled that Benintendi left the baseline and they called him out.
The last no-hitter thrown by an A’s pitcher was Dallas Braden’s Mother’s Day perfect game on Sunday, May 9, 2010, at the Coliseum, a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. (It was cool to see Braden, now an A’s sideline commentator, conduct the on-field post-game interview with Manaea.) Manaea’s no-no marked the 10th thrown at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, putting in behind only Fenway Park (14) and Dodger Stadium (12) for no-nos at current ballparks.
The last no-hitter thrown against the Red Sox was by the Seattle Mariners’ Chris Bosio, way back on Thursday, April 22, 1993, at the Kingdome, a 7-0 win by the Mariners. The Red Sox’s streak of avoiding a no-hitter was set to turn 25 tomorrow.
Manaea became just the second no-no thrower to wear No. 55 during his accomplishment, matching the San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum, who wore No. 55 while no-hitting the Padres twice.
Cubs’ Arrieta no-hits Reds, 2 years ago today
The Chicago Cubs’ Jake Arrieta no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, two years ago today.
On Thursday, April 21, 2016, at Great American Ballpark, Arrieta walked four and struck out six as the Cubs beat the Reds 16-0. The game just missed setting a mark for margin of victory, falling short of a Monday, August 4, 1884, no-no by the Buffalo Bisons’ Pud Galvin in which the Bisons topped the Detroit Wolverines by an 18-0 score.
Arrieta’s no-no, his second, came less than eight months after Arrieta held the the Los Angeles Dodgers hitless during a 2-0 win at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, August 30, 2015.
Arrieta, now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, has been particularly successful at limiting entries in the H column. Just Thursday, he threw seven innings of one-hit ball en route to a 7-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2014, Arrieta took two Cubs no-nos into the eighth inning but couldn’t complete the bids. In 2015, he took a perfecto bid into the seventh before the Pirates’ Gregory Polanco led off with a single to left.
April 20, 2018
Padres come within four outs of franchise’s first no-hitter
The San Diego Padres came within four outs of the team’s first-ever no-hitter Friday night before center fielder Franchy Cordero misplayed a pop fly into a double.
Tyson Ross had been no-hitting the Arizona Diamondbacks through 7⅔ innings before pinch hitter Christian Walker hits a deep fly ball to center. Cordero misread it and took few steps in before backtracking and letting it hit the grass behind him for the game’s first hit, an RBI double to make it 1-1.
That was it for Ross, who hit 127 pitches, striking out 10 and walking three.
With Walker’s hit, the Padres’ no no-hitters count hit 7,835 games, or just 184 games away from the Mets’ mark of 8,019. The wait continues.
Naps’ Joss no-hits ChiSox for second time, 108 years ago today
The Cleveland Naps’ (Indians’) Addie Joss threw the second of his two no-hitters 108 years ago today.
Joss on Wednesday, April 20, 1910 no-hit the Chicago White Sox for a 1-0 victory at South Side Park.
It was his second no-no against Chicago. On Friday, October 2, 1908, Joss threw a perfect game against the White Sox at home at League Park.
With the pair of gems, Joss became the first person to throw two no-hitters against the same team. The San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum duplicated the feat in 2013 and 2014, no-hitting the San Diego Padres in each.
April 19, 2018
Gattis’ mental error helps Mariners turn triple play
The Seattle Mariners turned the majors’ 716th triple play on Thursday thanks to the Houston Astros’ Evan Gattis not knowing how many outs there were.
In the top of the fourth inning with runners on first and second and no-outs, Gattis hit a check-swing grounder to third grabbed by Kyle Seager, who stepped on the bag for the first out and threw to second for the second out. It appeared that second baseman Robinson Cano could have maybe thrown to first to complete the triple play naturally, but he held onto the ball.
Gattis, however turned in toward the outfield after rounding first and began strolling toward the dugout. When Seager pointed and yelled, “Hey,” Cano tagged out Gattis on the infield grass to complete the super slo-mo triple play.
With that, here’s the latest rare feat rankings:
Triple plays: 716
Cycles: 319
No-hitters: 296
For a list of all of baseball’s triple plays, visit SABR’s Triple Play Database.
NJ hosts 1st MLB game, 62 years ago today
New Jersey hosted its first major-league baseball game, 62 years ago today.
The Brooklyn Dodgers played 15 regular-season games at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium during the 1956 and 1957 seasons, but none of them were no-hitters. The first N.J. Dodgers game was on April 19, 1956, and the displaced Brooklyn squad topped the Philadelphia Phillies for a 10-inning 5-4 win in an error-filled game (5 errors for the Dodgers, 3 for the Phillies). More than 12,000 fans watched the contest.
The Dodgers actually went 6-1 at Roosevelt Stadium in 1956 and clinched the National League pennant, but the team lost the World Series to the New York Yankees, thanks in part to Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5. Brooklyn posted a 5-3 record at Roosevelt Stadium in 1957.
Although Roosevelt Stadium never got to host an MLB no-hitter before Brooklyn packed up for Los Angeles in 1958, it did host two standout pitching performances during the 15 games played in Jersey City.
On Wednesday, August 15, 1956, the New York Giants’ Johnny Antonelli tossed a complete game two-hitter against the Dodgers for a 1-0 victory. The Dodgers’ Don Newcome (8 innings) and Clem Labine (1 inning) allowed only four hits. On the night of Tuesday, September 3, 1957, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Jack Sanford (7 innings), Turk Farrel (4 innings) and Bob Miller (1 inning) combined to throw a 12-inning, 3-hitter against the Dodgers for a 3-2 win.
April 18, 2018
Marlins fall 2 outs shy of no-hitting Mariners, 1 year ago today
The Miami Marlins fell two outs shy of no-hitting the Seattle Mariners, a year ago today.
On Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at Safeco Field, Wei-Yin Chen threw seven innings of no-hit ball before handing relief duties to Brad Ziegler, who got through the eighth inning unscathed. Kyle Barraclough took the ball for the ninth and recorded one out before the Mariners’ Mitch Haniger tagged him for a double. The Marlins won the game 5-0.
The combined no-no bid came just two days after the Marlins took a no-no against the New York Mets at home at Marlins Park into the eighth inning. In that game, the tandem of Dan Straily (5⅓), Jarlin Garcia (⅔) and Kyle Barraclough (1) no-hit the Mets through seven innings, and Brad Ziegler took the ball for the eighth. Ziegler retired two batters before Neil Walker hit a single up the middle to kill the effort. The Marlins won that game 4-2.
Buehrle no-hits Rangers, 11 years ago today
Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle tossed his first of two no-hitters, 11 years ago today.
On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, Buehrle no-hit the Texas Rangers for a 6-0 victory at U.S. Cellular Field. Buehrle struck out eight and issued just one walk to Sammy Sosa in the fifth inning, quickly picking him off first base.
The game featured several close calls. In the second inning, Jermaine Dye snagged a deep fly by Hank Blalock that appeared destined to clear the fence by about a foot.
In the third inning, Jerry Hairston lined a ball over the third base bag that easily could have been a double, but Joe Crede made a diving play and threw to first for the out. Hairston may have beaten the throw with his head-first slide, but this was in the day before replay and his argument only resulted in his ejection.
Blalock again nearly reached base in the fifth with a grounder between first and second, but second baseman Tadahito Iguchi made a nice diving stop.
Nelson Cruz could have reached base on a Buehrle strikeout with one out in the ninth inning had he noticed sooner that A.J. Pierzynski dropped the ball, but Cruz’s delay allowed the easy 2-3 putout before Gerald Laird grounded out to third for the final out.
Buehrle would go on to record his second no-hitter about two years later. On Thursday, July 23, 2009, Buehrle pitched a 5-0 perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays at home.
April 17, 2018
Expos no no-no count resets before hitting 9, 49 years ago today
The Montreal Expos’ Bill Stoneman no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies in just the Expos’ ninth game, 49 years ago today.
The San Diego Padres, an expansion partner of the Expos, are still awaiting the team’s first no-hitter.
On April 17, 1969, Stoneman no-hit for a 7-0 victory at Connie Mack Stadium, walking five and striking out eight. It’s the earliest a franchise has ever knocked the accomplishment off its bucket list. Stoneman would get one more no-no in 1972.
Here’s when the other two 1969 expansion teams exited the no no-no club:
Kansas City Royals
In his 10th Major League start, Kansas City Royals starter Steve Busby no-hit the Detroit Tigers for a 3-0 victory on April 27, 1973 despite walking five batters. Busby would throw another no-hitter on June 19, 1974, becoming the first pitcher to ever throw two no-nos in his first two full seasons (he had thrown a couple late-season games in 1972). Other Royals pitchers would throw two more no-hitters to give the franchise a total of four.
Seattle Pilots
The Pilots lasted just one season in Seattle, and the team couldn’t notch a no-hitter or even a one-hitter during those 162 games (they did get three two-hitters). After the squad moved to Milwaukee and was renamed the Brewers, the franchise would have to wait 17 years for its first no-hitter. Juan Nieves became the first Puerto Rico native to throw a no-no on April 15, 1987 as the Brewers topped the Baltimore Orioles 7-0. Robin Yount made a game-ending diving catch to preserve Nieves’ gem, which remains the Brewers’ only no-no.
