Monday, May 23, 2011

JustIncredible

Just four days after Minnesota's Francisco Liriano etched his name into the record books by throwing a no-hitter, Tigers ace Justin Verlander joined him by tossing the second no-no of his career and seventh in Tigers franchise history.
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On the road in Toronto while facing the Blue Jays, Verlander who normally baffles his victims via the strikeout, having led the American League in K's in 2009, instead managed to get the opposition out by way of the ground and fly ball variety. And though he didn't amass an impressive strikeout total like he did in 2007 when compiling 12 K's in his first no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers, the four punch outs which also matched a season-low, enabled him to coast through innings with a relatively low pitch-count heading into the latter innings of the ballgame. Verlander did have his strikeout stuff though as his fastball reached speeds up to 101 MPH as late as the 7th inning.

His only flaw would come with one out in the 8th inning when he walked Jays rookie catcher J.P. Arencebia in a 12-pitch at-bat that ended in a ball just millimeters off the plate. Had it not been for the walk, Verlander would've had a perfecto as no other Blue Jay reached base. However, the former AL Rookie of the Year did face the minimum 27 batters as Toronto third baseman Edwin Encarnacion followed Arencebia's walk by hitting into an inning-ending double play. Verlander's masterful performance was capped off by striking out Rajai Davis swinging en route to a 9-0 victory. The 28 year old hurler was treated to a Gatorade shower after his teammates rushed the mound to congratulate him on his magnificent feat.
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With a second no-hitter on his resume, Verlander became just the seventh pitcher since 1954 to toss a no-no while facing the minimum (27 batters) and only the 28th player in modern Major League history to record multiple no-hitter's. Even after joining the short list of pitchers with more than one no-hitter, Verlander has his sights on an even greater achievement and says he's aiming for 7 no-no's, a territory only one man has been able to reach -- the legendary Nolan Ryan.

Preparing for his voyage, the Tigers righty will have the odds against him as only five pitchers have thrown more than two no-hitters. But as a proud Fantasy owner of Verlander, I'll be wishing him luck and cheering him on every inch of the way.
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