Sports Cipher

Seattle Mariners’ Third No-Hitter in Organization History

The Seattle Mariners (27-33) pitched a no-hitter Friday night against the best team in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers (37-22), winning 1-0. Most recently, Johan Santana with the New York Mets pitched a whole game to claim the Mets first no-hitter June 1 against the New York Yankees. Unlike Santana’s no-hitter, the Mariners used more than one pitcher. Six pitchers graced the mound as the delivered the Mariners third no-hitter in the organization’s history. The last time two no-hitters were delivered in the same month was 2011. May 3, 2011, Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 1-0. May 7, 2011, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-0. Friday night hosted six different pitchers but the opener and closer had the pressure on.

The Pitchers

Up first was Kevin Milwood. Milwood pitched a majority of the game recording six innings pitched. He came out with a groin injury. If Milwood would have stayed I don’t think the no-hitter was going to happen Friday. Luckily, he had many skilled relievers to back him up. Next up was Charlie Furbush and Stephen Pryor, who closed out the seventh inning. After Lucas Luetge and Brandon League closed out the eight it was up to Tom Wilhelmson to make the save. Wilhelmson didn’t even know how close they were. If he did he might have gotten stuck under pressure.

Mariners catcher Jesus Montero made a comment on Wilhelmson’s surprise. “He was surprised. He didn’t know. … I jumped on him and I was like, ‘Hey, it’s a no-hitter!’ And he went, ‘What?!’ And then he was so happy after that. He was so focused on the game. That’s what happened.”

Almost a Hit for the Dodgers but No Cigar

Dee Gordon was about to mess up all of the Mariners pitchers’ hard work at the top of the ninth. He led off with a slow grounder to shortstop. Ryan, who had just entered and hurled it to first for a clutch play.

No-Hitter History

It was the 10th combined no-hitter in history since the Houston Astros performance against the Yankees in April 1993. Also, it was the fourth no-no in the 2012 season. The third no-no in Mariners’ history occurred as well. It was a historical night for them as every no-hitter is.

Mariners’ Comments

“I’m excited for all these guys that came in the game out of the bullpen and kept it going. It’s a little bit more exciting for those guys when they can be a part of it,” Millwood said.

“I think we all took a second and looked around and were like, did that really happen — and what do we do now?” shortstop Brendan Ryan said.

“When you win a 1-0 ballgame in that fashion, so many different people have to step up, defensively and on the mound,” Manager Eric Wedge said. “That’s what you saw tonight.”