Last night in Chicago, Twin's left-hander, Francisco Liriano threw the first no-hitter of 2011 at US Cellular Field against the White Sox. In an unlikely two-strikeout and six-walk outing, Liriano’s no-no became the seventh in Twins’ franchise history and the 13th thrown against the Chicago White Sox.
Congratulations to Francisco for an amazing accomplishment!
Here are some fun facts about no-hitters throughout baseball history:
• 268 no-hitters have been thrown in MLB history
• 20 have been perfect-game no-hitters
• August 16, 1893: 1st no-hitter at modern pitching distance (60’) thrown by Baltimore Orioles’ Bill Hawke
• April 16, 1940: Bob Feller has the 1st and only no-hitter thrown on opening day
• Don Larsen (1956) and Roy Halladay (2010) are the only pitchers to throw post-season no-hitters
• Roy Halladay is the only pitcher to throw a regular-season no-hitter and a post-season no-hitter in the same season
Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-hitter in the 18-year history of the Colorado Rockies on Saturday at Turner Field, when the Rockies topped the Braves 4-0. Jimenez topped out at 98 mph, even after more than 120 pitches had been hurled. The 26-year-old righty started off a bit rocky, walking 5 batters through the first six innings. After some advice from his pitching coach, Bob Apodaca, Jimenez settled down and pitched the rest of the game from the stretch. It worked. And like in most no-hitter games, he had a little help from his defense... Dexter Fowler made an amazing diving catch in the 7th inning to ruin the Braves best chance at a hit.
After this rare feat on Saturday, just three MLB teams remain without a no-hitter in their record books: San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Mets.
If you missed the game... check out some highlights: