The Canadian James Paxton pitched a no-hitter against Canada’s only team, the Toronto Blue Jays (19-17). In the 5-0 victory of the Seattle Mariners (20-14), he made several entries in the history books.
99 pitches was all Paxton needed to complete his first no-hitter ever. The final out was a ground out against Josh Donaldson. Paxton allowed three walks and collected seven strikeouts.
Paxton is only the second Canadian to pitch a No-No. The first was Dick Fowler, who did the same in September 1945 for the Philadelphia A’s against the St. Louis Browns. It was also the third No-Hitter of the season – in the third country. Sean Manaea (Oakland A’s) had beaten the Red Sox in Oakland/USA, while the Dodgers did the same against the Padres with five pitchers last Friday in Mexico. Paxton now made up ground in Canada.
“What are the chances of that happening in Canada,” Paxton asked himself after the game and continued: “It’s pretty amazing. It’s just something very special. And then against the Blue Jays? The script couldn’t have been written better.”
*) Perfect game.
For the Mariners, however, it is the sixth No-Hitter ever. Hisashi Iwakuma last managed to do this against the Orioles in 2015. Paxton’s No-No is, however, the first outside Seattle for the Mariners.
Meanwhile, the Mariners scored their runs in innings 3, 4 and 5, with Mike Zunino scoring a 2-run homerun in the fourth.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.