M's Iwakuma carves up O's with No-No

While Seattle Mariners fans haven't had a whole lot to cheer about this season after heading into 2015 with high hopes following the signing of free agent slugger Nelson Cruz, on Wednesday, 34-year old Hisashi Iwakuma gave them something to celebrate. With the Baltimore Orioles in town, Iwakuma entered the afternoon seeking his first career complete game in the states after recording 48 of them in Japan's Nippon Professional League. He would end up walking off the mound with an even greater accomplishment by pitching his team to victory and tossing a no-hitter in the process.

With the last 12 no-hitters being thrown by pitchers in the National League prior to Wednesday, Iwakuma put an end to that streak by becoming the first American Leaguer to toss a no-no since his Seattle teammate Felix Hernandez who twirled a perfect game back in 2012. Having endured a rough 2015 which saw the Japanese right-hander struggle before serving time on the disabled-list with a strained lat muscle as well as time on the trading block, Iwakuma put all that behind him on this day by returning to form in front of a Safeco Field crowd of more than 25,000 in attendance. Those who were there got to witness not only the fifth no-hitter in Mariners franchise history but only the second Japanese born hurler in Major League history to complete a no-no, joining Hideo Nomo who accomplished the feat twice as both a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and later on with the Boston Red Sox. Iwakuma, who was named to the AL All-Star team in 2013, needed 116-pitches to etch his name into the history books while striking out 7 Oriole hitters and walking 3. 

Iwakuma's masterful performance was the fourth no-hitter this season following no-no's by Chris Heston of the Giants, Max Scherzer of the Nationals and Cole Hamels who threw his as a member of the Phillies before being traded less than a week later to the Rangers. Currently in a contract year and able to hit the free-agent market in the offseason, Iwakuma dug deep into his bag of tricks to remind us of the dominant pitcher who logged an impressive 2.66 ERA over 33 starts in 2013. Whether or not he'll be back on the mound in a Mariners uniform next season as the Seattle ball club remains in fourth place in the AL West at 54-61 overall following the 3-0 victory on Wednesday, Iwakuma definitely helped his stock a bit going forward. 


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