12/21/24
May 07, 2011
Justin Verlander Throws No-Hitter: Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander threw his second career Major League Baseball no-hitter on Saturday, a 9-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Verlander's only walk occurred against Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia in the eighth. His first no-no was against the Milwaukee Brewers in a June 2007 interleague game.
Number of no-hitters thrown by Tigers' pitchers in my lifetime - 3
Number of no-hitters by Tigers' pitchers I've gotten to watch - 0
Good on JV, though...only 5 more to catch Nolan Ryan...
posted by MeatSaber at 07:57 PM on May 07, 2011
I was curious whether Verlander was the only active pitcher with multiple no-hitters. Roy Halladay and Mark Buehrle also have thrown two. Here's the list of players with more than one.
posted by rcade at 08:03 PM on May 07, 2011
Watching this happen against the Jays, I could only think back to Dave Stieb and his back to back starts where he lost no-hitters with two outs in the ninth inning. Unfortunately, Rajah Davis is no Jim Traber or Julio Franco.
posted by dfleming at 10:24 PM on May 07, 2011
We were out to eat and a man at the bar had the bartender change the TV to the Kentucky Derby during the 7th inning (which was well away from starting). Absolutely no appreciation for (potential) greatness.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 10:30 PM on May 07, 2011
I watched the first seven and I have to hand it to Verlander. He was on. Couple line drives right at the defender, but all in all, an extremely well-pitched game.
The Jays didn't really do themselves any favours, but they were over-matched to a man. I can't believe an Arencibia walk was the difference.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:24 AM on May 08, 2011
I know the Jays want to win and getting base runners is the key, but to take a late inning walk in a game the pitcher has a perfect game when the pitches were close and hittable is weak in my opinion. Take your hacks. Try to get a hit to break up the perfecto.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 02:45 AM on May 08, 2011
Arencibia fouled off six pitches with two strikes before taking the walk. He took his hacks.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 08:08 AM on May 08, 2011
I know the Jays want to win and getting base runners is the key, but to take a late inning walk in a game the pitcher has a perfect game when the pitches were close and hittable is weak in my opinion. Take your hacks. Try to get a hit to break up the perfecto.
Are you suggesting that the Jays should have swung at everything that he threw?
The last ball in Arencibia's at-bat was very low and very outside. There is no reason for him to swing at that one.
And, as was pointed out, he had already made it through 11 pitches before that. Verlander had his chances to get him out.
posted by grum@work at 08:58 AM on May 08, 2011
Take your hacks.
The pitch was well outside. If it had even been close I'm sure he would have gotten the call. There comes a point where a no-hitter/perfect game becomes a joke, and swinging at pitches well off the plate is one of those points.
Very low? I'm hoping I saw the same pitch as grum.
posted by justgary at 10:27 AM on May 08, 2011
Not low, but almost in the opposite batter's box. Not close enough to take a decent hack at (he would have had to lunge) and not close enough for the umpire to give him the benefit of the doubt.
posted by justgary at 10:40 AM on May 08, 2011
Not low, but almost in the opposite batter's box.
I'll concede that I wasn't watching the replay intently, so it may have been where the catcher's mitt was after he caught it. I did think that that it wasn't close so no controversy there.
Oh, and for the record. This is the BEST no-hitter thrown this year.
posted by grum@work at 11:46 AM on May 08, 2011
Oh, and for the record. This is the BEST no-hitter thrown this year.
Why do you hate Liriano so much, grum? =D
posted by MeatSaber at 12:25 PM on May 08, 2011
Not to rain on the parade too much, but it was a pretty beaten-up Blue Jays lineup that was run out there today. No Jose Bautista, no Aaron Hill, no Travis Snider, and Adam Lind left with an injury halfway through the game. The front office has chosen to run with 13 pitchers for the past few weeks, and has been hesitant to DL players, so sometimes that means you get Mike McCoy, John Mcdonald, and Corey Patterson all in the lineup at the same time.
Anyway, Verlander was dealing well enough that this was probably a foregone conclusion. Just wish the Jays had had a little something more to work with.