And the first no-hitter of the MLB season belongs to…Jonathan Sanchez.
It’s no surprise that the first no-hitter of the season came from one of the San Francisco Giants’ hurlers, though you would’ve expected it to come from, say Tim Lincecum, who’s been building up towards one in his recent starts, allowing two, three, and three hits.
As it happens, Lincecum’s six innings of no-hit ball against the Padres last night must have given Sanchez quite the shot of confidence, as he went out and upstaged Lincecum by striking out 11, walking none, and missing out on an amazing perfect game by a solitary 8th inning error by Juan Uribe. But all the same, that’s something that can be easily forgiven, because if not for a leaping catch at the center field wall by highlight reel favorite Aaron Rowand to deny Edgar Gonzalez of a potential homer, Sanchez would’ve ended up two outs short of the no-no and a shutout.
Whatever the case, whether it was Lincecum’s outing or San Diego’s run production issues that buoyed him, there’s no better way to seize upon an opportunity than Sanchez did. Going into tonight, the 26-year-old was 2-8 with a 5.30 ERA and had been recently demoted to the bullpen, and he was only starting tonight because Randy Johnson went on the disabled list this week.
Time will tell whether this his a career turning point or a career high point for Sanchez, but as tonight shows, there’s no doubt that he has the stuff if he can control it (46 walks in 69.2 innings coming into tonight). He’ll be able to get a few more starts under his belt after the All-Star break while Johnson’s shoulder heals up, so the opportunity is there for him to prove that he’s got a big part to play in the Giants’ hopes of making the postseason.
Sanchez’s no-hitter was one of six shutouts tonight, so it was not a bad night for pitching all-around.
