SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2009
Giants' Sanchez Pitches No-Hitter
First No-Hitter of Season; Left-Hander Just Falls Short of Perfect Game
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San Francisco Giants' Jonathan Sanchez works against the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning Friday, July 10, 2009, in San Francisco. Sanchez pitched a no-hitter, beating the Padres 8-0. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
San Francisco's left-hander made a triumphant return to the rotation following a nearly three-week demotion to the bullpen, pitching the game of his life Friday night for the majors' first no-hitter of the season.
And he came within a whisper of a perfect game. The only runner to reach against him in an 8-0 victory over the San Diego Padres was on an error by third baseman Juan Uribe with one out in the eighth.
"It's the game, it can happen," Sanchez said, refusing to point fingers at Uribe and rather focus on his improbable feat. "I could have given up a hit, too. It doesn't matter. I just want to win."
Sanchez almost lost his no-hit bid in the ninth, but Gold Glove center fielder Aaron Rowand saved the gem with a leaping grab at the center-field fence to rob pinch-hitter Edgar Gonzalez for the second out.
"I was going to go up and over and land on the other side of the fence if I had to, to try to make the catch," Rowand said.
And to think the 26-year-old Sanchez (3-8) only got the call because 303-game winner Randy Johnson went on the disabled list this week with a shoulder injury.
With his father, Sirgfredo, and a friend cheering from the stands, Sanchez threw a called third strike past Everth Cabrera to finish his first career complete game. Sanchez walked toward the plate and thrust his arms in the air as catcher Eli Whiteside rushed in for a big hug and the Giants poured out of their dugout.
Also offering their congratulations were Johnson, the last major leaguer to throw a perfect game, and Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti, who tossed a no-hitter for the New York Yankees on July 4, 1983.
Sanchez's father is visiting from Puerto Rico and arrived in San Francisco on Thursday night at the urging of another son.
When the pitcher came off the field, the two shared a long embrace before Sanchez jogged back out and tipped his cap to the cheering crowd.
"This is a gift for him," said Sanchez, who struck out a career-high 11. "I feel awesome."
It was the Giants' 13th no-hitter and first since John Montefusco did it on Sept. 29, 1976, at Atlanta. Their last one in San Francisco came when Ed Halicki beat the New York Mets in the second game of a doubleheader on Aug. 24, 1975.
The Padres were no-hit for the seventh time and first since Bud Smith blanked them 4-0 for St. Louis on Sept. 3, 2001.
Sanchez did it on 110 pitches, 77 for strikes. After the final one, Whiteside came rushing with a hug, followed moments later by all their teammates.
Sanchez, who won for the first time since May 25, had a five-start winless stretch this season in which he went 0-4. He told The Associated Press two days earlier that he hadn't lost his confidence in his ability to pitch and be a starter in the major leagues - and manager Bruce Bochy hadn't lost faith, either.
"They gave me a second chance. You see what happened tonight," Sanchez said.
Afterward, Bochy said, Sanchez joked, "I hope I won't go back to the pen."
Sanchez pitched the first no-hitter in the majors since Carlos Zambrano for the Chicago Cubs against the Houston Astros in Milwaukee on Sept. 14, 2008. That game was relocated from Houston to Miller Park because of Hurricane Ike.
Sanchez's father and friend stood nervously - with the rest of the crowd of 30,298 at AT&T Park on a cool night in the Bay Area - and his dad bit his nails and bounced anxiously. But Sanchez's dad quickly got down to the dugout to congratulate a pitcher who made his 51st major league start the most special of his career after months of struggles.
"Felicidades!" - congratulations - fans yelled in the tunnel outside the San Francisco clubhouse as Sanchez signed autographs.
Cabrera, the last batter of the game, squared to bunt on the first pitch - bringing a chorus of boos from the crowd. Sanchez then froze Cabrera with a curveball, setting the career-high with his 11th strikeout. Cabrera protested the call, looking at plate umpire Brian Runge in disbelief.
"On film he throws the ball hard, but it looks like he doesn't know where it's going," San Diego's Tony Gwynn Jr. said. "Today he looked exactly like he knew where it was going."
Sanchez finished the Giants' major league-leading 13th shutout of the year, following All-Star and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum's no-hit bid into the seventh inning a night earlier against San Diego.
"I think if you looked at the staff, he wouldn't be the one you picked," Bochy said. "He came out throwing 94-96 (mph). He just had incredible stuff."
The last no-hitter in San Francisco was pitched by Florida's Kevin Brown on June 10, 1997, at Candlestick Park - so this was the first at the Giants' 10-year-old waterfront ballpark.
Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer to center off Josh Banks (1-1) in the fifth. Rowand also had three RBIs.
Uribe and Whiteside had RBI singles in a four-run second inning. Rowand added a two-run single.
Whiteside started in place of regular catcher Bengie Molina, whose wife went into labor Friday.
NOTES:
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- The only difference between the pitcher's performance and a perfect game was a teammate's error. What if the error was due to the catcher dropping a third-strike? What more can a pitcher do than strike-out the batter? The pitcher doesn't get a perfect game in that case either. In these situations the pitcher has pitched a perfect game, it's someone else who screws-up. We don't take away a guy's perfect game because the attendance was too low, another factor beyond his control.
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- To say that shocked the baseball world is an understatement. He was 2-8 with a team 10 games over .500, and for him to punch out the lowly Padres is commendable. Since I am a Dodger fan, the only team I dislike more than the Yankees is the Giants. So I hope they finish 10 games below .500 from this point forward. That way they can truly say the 2009 season was a complete waste of time for them and their fans. Congratulations Jonathan. I am glad your folks were there to see you pitch, that must have been cool.
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