Verlander's Night

OMG ... not the Pirates. Another bunch of no-names of the kind that jumps up and kicks the Tigers' butts when they aren't looking. And it's inter-league weekend. But Verlander's pitching, and you never know ... against this crew, he might throw a no-hitter. 

And he almost did. 

Jacob Harrison got their first hit, a clean single, with one out in the ninth. On the way there, JV fanned twelve and walked two. The only hard-hit ball was Harrison's sixth inning  liner that Don Kelly, playing center for the injured Austin Jackson, chased down on the warning track. (Don Kelly, HE'S the man!) 

Tonight's effort represents the fourth time in two years that JV has taken a no-no into the eighth inning. He got one, and came close three times, which has to be some kind of record.

So close, but yet so far. (Maggie is the Frankie Valli fan in the room.) 

Verlander isn't content with being arguably the league's top pitcher. He has his sights on a bronze plaque in Cooperstown. And y'know what? He's going to make it.

Santana No-Hits Tribe

Ervin Santana's no-hitter this afternoon at Cleveland wasn't your typical no-hitter.

He allowed a first inning run, on an error, sacrifice, ground out, and wild pitch. And the Indians made five errors of their own. 

I've never seen a final scoring line of 1-0-5. 

You can't miss a game, you never know what you might see that you've never before, and this one goes in the personal record book as the first beach no-hitter. All nine innings heard in the company of teenage girls in string bikinis, and sea gulls.

 My queen won't want to know that. What you read here, let it stay here when you leave here.

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In Chicago, Max Scherzer was good, but John Danks was one run better. And who IS this guy Alex De Aza? 

The two Sox runs scored on a De Aza homer, in his first AB in the major leagues this season.

But it's okay, no ground lost, another Indians implosion, one more day off the schedule.

NO-HITTER FOR VERLANDER !!!

When Justin Verlander retired the first fifteen Blue Jays in order, I sent my e-mail Perfect Game Alerts. (I send them, and No-Hitter Alerts, like some people send Amber Alerts.)  And I rolled a TAPE. That can be, and usually is, The Curse for any no-hitter in progress. Last night I personally killed two no-nos; Derek Lowe's in Philly and Jaime Garcia's in St. Louis, by rolling TAPE on them. 


JV burned through the Jays' order through the sixth and seventh, and into the eighth. With one out, J.P. Arencibia furiously worked him for a walk, in a twelve-pitch AB. But Edwin Encarnacion hit into a double play, and then you knew it was going to be a special day. 


David Cooper popped out to start the ninth. John MacDonald grounded out. JV was still throwing 100 mph heat. Rajai Davis worked the count to 2-2, and waved at a pitch off the plate. No-hitter! Tigers win! No-hitter! Ho-lee COW ... 


The TAPE Curse proved to be non-lethal for games played today at the Rogers Centre. The Brewers' Yovani Gallardo had the Cardinals hitless after seven in St. Louis, but the first batter up after I hit Record, David Descalso, singled. 


Even with the presence of Gameday's audio archive, it's more fun to get something historic ON TAPE in real time, and feel like you're part of the event. 

An Early Start To The Day

Listening to Francisco Liriano's no-hitter from last night via the Gameday Audio archive. I've known about this resource from day one but never used it until today, so bad did I want to hear the White Sox get no-hit as described by their own bored radio announcers, in their own evil ball park. (Ed Farmer sounds like Johnny Rotten calling a game.) If bin Laden had been a baseball fan, he'd have been a White Sox fan. 

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I hope we get hotter than bleep, after last night, just so we can stick it up them nickel-and-dime fans who cheer when Austin Jackson grounds out. Meaning he at least didn't strike out. (That's the Tigers?)