This remains one of the best seasons for pitching in Major League Baseball history. Whether it’s the lack of steroids keeping the ball in the park or the lack of amphetamines and other speed-based drugs keeping hitter reaction times lowered while improving fielder concentration, there’s something going around baseball and, as such, pitching is back on top. Last night, Matt Garza threw the fifth (well, sixth if you count the one stolen from Armando Galarraga) no-hitter of this MLB season and the first no-hitter in the 13-year-history of the Tampa Bay Rays.
For once, the Rays are on the right side of the no-hitter streak. This is the first time since 1917 that one team has been involved in three no-hit games in one season (the Rays were victimized by two no-hit games and have recorded this one; the two teams involved in three no-hitters in 1917 were the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago White Sox). Thanks to the new no-no, the New York Mets and San Diego Padres remain the only two current MLB franchises to never record a no-hitter.
“It was one of those days where everything lined up,” Garza said of his nearly-perfect pitching gem. “The defense made great plays. I really can’t say enough about them.” Congratulations are in order; he pitched a great game.
Tags: MLB, Major League Baseball, no hitters, no-hitter, Tampa Bay Rays, Matt Garza, Matt Garza throws first no-hitter in Tampa Bay Rays history, pitching, Detroit Tigers