Seattle Mariners Combine for No-Hitter: 6 Times the Fun
I am now officially the only member of Three Up, Three Down whose team has been no-hit this year, though Brian’s Texas Rangers did their best earlier this week to beat me to it. I figured I should be the one to write this post to not only prove I’m not in a deep depression following yesterday’s game, but to man up and accept defeat.
We got beat. Badly. No-hit, in fact (although it was the second time in recent years we had a chance to beat an AL West team without getting a hit – last time, Jered Weaver and the Angels in 2008). By six different pitchers, no less.
I’m not going to come on here and spew half-truths about the historic moment, and tell you how much harder it is to collect a hit off six different pitchers, as opposed to one who you see with the same repertoire all game. Or try to claim that Dee Gordon was safe at first in the ninth inning (upon further review, I’ve determined the throw beat him…or was at least close enough to not cause a Carlos Beltran-esque uproar). And as much as I’d like to, I won’t take Mapes’ suggestion that it’s all Juan Uribe’s fault (it is…it always is).
Let me instead, first, congratulate the Seattle Mariners. Six pitchers did their jobs in fantastic, hitless fashion, and they deserved it. And it’s a damn shame that starter Kevin Millwood tweaked his groin warming up in the seventh inning, because he was absolutely rolling against the Dodger lineup.
As much as it would have hurt to be no-hit in the traditional sense, Millwood is a good guy and it could have been against a less likable pitcher. Do I believe we would have eventually tagged Millwood for a hit? Yes. But I’m also optimistic. The way he was throwing, who knows?
One thing I do know is this: I wrote a post on LasordasLair.com yesterday detailing the Dodgers’ 29 (now 28) games before the All-Star break. I warned of a letdown against the Mariners and A’s, the two worst teams on a slate that includes the Angels twice, the Giants, the Reds, the Mets, the White Sox…you get the picture; it’s a tough schedule.
Let’s just say things didn’t go as planned to start that schedule off. But the M’s are going to be good. And soon. Maybe not 2012, maybe not even 2013, but in a couple of years this ball club is going to be contending in that division. I said it before the no-hitter, and I’ll say it again. Seattle 2014. Watch out.
We know the young lineup can score runs (remember when they dropped three touchdowns on the Rangers?), and the pitching has been very impressive. And I don’t just mean Felix Hernandez and a bunch of bums. Half of their roster is in their first or second years in the Majors, and they are playing very respectable baseball.
Anyway, back to the point. This young, talented Seattle team will be a force in the coming years. And I’ll always remember being the first team to be no-hit by them.
Yes, I know that’s a rusty, dingy silver lining, but I’m optimistic, remember? Speaking of optimism, one good thing came out of yesterday’s games and trumped being no-hit for Dodgers fans (muahaha!):
#SFGiants lose 5-0 to #Rangers in the 1st game of this 3-game series.
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) June 9, 2012
I leave you with some cool, random combined no-hitter facts. One for each pitcher the Mariners used yesterday:
– The first combined no-hitter involved Babe Ruth, who walked the first batter of the game, was ejected for arguing, then sat and watched his teammate Ernie Shore retire 26 in a row to secure a no-no.
– Kevin Millwood became the third pitcher in MLB history (along with Vida Blue and Kent Mercker) to both start a complete game no-hitter and a combined no-hitter.
– In 1997, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon combined to pitch the only extra-inning combined no-hitter in MLB history, a 3-0, 10-inning victory over the Houston Astros.
– These 2012 Mariners aren’t the first to record a six-pitcher no-hitter – the Houston Astros did the same to the New York Yankees in 2003, after Roy Oswalt left the game with an injury after one inning.
– One pitcher in history has both started and finished a no-hitter. Mike Witt threw a perfect game in 1984, and then closed out the last two innings of a no-hitter in 1990 (over the Mariners, ironically enough).
– Rookie reliever Stephen Pryor was the winning pitcher of record for the Mariners yesterday – it was his first career win, despite recording one out and walking two batters, easily the most unproductive of the six Seattle pitchers.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @3u3d, Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/3u3dpodcast and to TUNE IN to Episode 15 next week – I guarantee we’ll be talking about this no-no, and I’ll be getting tons of crap for it!
Three Up, Three Down 