One Hit Wonder? Another Anibal Sanchez No-Hit Bid Spoiled

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Anibal Sanchez of the Detroit Tigers reacts after striking out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins to end the game on Friday.Enlarge image i

Anibal Sanchez of the Detroit Tigers reacts after striking out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins to end the game on Friday.


Duane Burleson/Getty Images

Anibal Sanchez of the Detroit Tigers reacts after striking out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins to end the game on Friday.

Anibal Sanchez of the Detroit Tigers reacts after striking out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins to end the game on Friday.

Duane Burleson/Getty Images

You’ve gotta feel for Detroit right-hander Anibal Sanchez.

He was cruising toward a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins Friday night. It was the ninth inning, two outs to go, the count was 1-1 on Joe Mauer.

For his 121st pitch, Sanchez hung a pitch over the heart of the plate. Mauer delivered a bullet to center field, spoiling Sanchez’s no-hit bid.

As the baseball gods are wont to do, it set up a trifecta of statistical curiosities. According to reports from the AP and ESPN:

— This is Sanchez’s fourth career one-hitter. This is the second time during the past three seasons, he’s had a no hitter broken up in the 9th inning.

— Mauer, for his part, seems intent on dashing the dreams of Major-League pitchers. This was the third time he breaks up a no-hitter in the ninth.

— Last season, Major League Baseball saw seven no-hitters. This season, we haven’t seen any but there have already been five one-hitters.

Before you take our headline seriously, by the way, we should note that Sanchez threw a no-hitter, back in 2006 when he was a Florida Marlin.

“In the end, he got the hit,” Sanchez told MLB.com. “But I feel good. I’ll take my nine innings.”

Article source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/25/186575441/one-hit-wonder-another-anibal-sanchez-no-hit-bid-spoiled?ft=1&f=1001

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