John Means, the ace in the Baltimore Orioles rotation, accomplished one of the most coveted feats of a pitcher in MLB.
In his team’s 6-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, the left-hander pitched a no-hitter, the third of the season and the 10th in franchise history.
The Major League Baseball page reported that a perfect game was being thrown until the eighth inning, but a batter reached base during the third set.
With one out, Sam Haggerty struck out while fanning, however, the pitch with which Means got the out was a wild one, allowing the batter / runner to reach first base.
Later, Haggerty was retired attempting to steal the second. With this, despite a batter reaching the bases, Means retired all 27 opponents he faced.
John Means becomes the first solo pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Jim Palmer got it in 1969.
Combined, the franchise has scored six No-Nos in Baltimore and four more as the St. Louis Browns. The Orioles left-hander is the third pitcher this season to have a no-hitter.
The first to do so was Joe Musgrove with the San Diego Padres on April 9; the second was Carlos Rodón for the Chicago White Sox on April 14, a game in which a pitch with two outs left in the game turned the jewel of a perfect into a no-hitter.
In addition, Madison Bumgarner threw a no-hitter on April 25 against the Atlanta Braves, but the Major League office and the company that keeps the statistics did not recognize it as an official because it was a seven-inning game. (www.septimaentrada.com) (GG)