The Miami Marlins gained a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers in the regular season finale, thanks to pitcher Henderson Alvarez. The final score was 1-0.
Alvarez struck four out and walked one. He took the no-hitter into the ninth inning, which was scoreless until then. However, he needed to complete the game to earn credit for it.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Reuters reports that Tigers reliever Luke Putkonen threw a wild pitch past catcher Brayan Pena , allowing Giancarlo Stanton to score from third for the game-ending run.
The finish allowed the 23-year-old Venezuelan the third no-hitter of the season. It was also the sixth ever thrown by a Marlins pitcher. The last no-hitter for the team was thrown by Anibal Sanchez in 2006.
Yahoo! Sports notes that Henderson Alvarez spoke through a translator after the game , saying, “I was nervous and anxious. I started praying, ‘Please give us a run.’ I was hoping for a wild pitch.” He got what he prayed for.
Alvarez was due to hit next. Instead, he was able to take off his batting helmet and celebrate with his teammates for the win.
Marlins manager Mike Redmond added that he would have sent Alvarez out to pitch the 10th inning, but thankfully it wasn’t needed. Redmond added, “That’s the beautify of baseball. You never know what you’re going to see. On the last day of the season, what a treat.”
The right-handed pitcher was able to put a beautiful end on a dismal season for the Marlins, who had the worst record in the NL at 62-100. He joined Homer Bailey of Cincinnati and Tim Lincecum of San Francisco, who also scored no-hitters this year. It was also the fourth time a no-hitter has ended the season.
Along with Alvarez’s economical 99 pitches, he was helped in the Marlins no-hitter by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who leaped to catch a Ramon Santiago line drive in the third inning.
[Image by Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons ]
