2010 MLB: Year of the Pitcher
The Rays, who have endured two no-hitters - including a perfect game - thrown against them this season, saw their own pitcher post a no-no when Garza blanked Detroit on July 26.
The 26-year-old Garza struck out six and walked one in his gem, a 5-0 victory over the Tigers that boosted his record to 11-5 and his ERA to 4.06.
It was a welcome change for the Rays, who had been kept hitless by two opposing pitchers in a 2010 season that's been largely dominated by mound men. Five no hitters - including two perfect games - through July 26 is phenomenal. Not exactly unheard of, but still phenomenal.
There were two no-hitters in 2009 and two in 2008. Major League Baseball hasn't seen more than three no-hitters in a season since 1991, when there were seven.
The two perfect games are even more impressive. Before Philadelphia's Roy Halladay notched a perfect game on May 29, there had been only 17 in the modern era of Major League Baseball ... since 1901.
The 17th? That came exactly 20 days before Halladay's, when Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden tossed a perfect game against the Rays. Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game on July 23, 1999, and to find the next ones on the list (Randy Johnson and David Cone), you have to dig back in five-year chunks.
If two perfect games in a season is impressive, what's three? We'd almost have to invent an adjective to describe it. It could still happen in 2010, but it almost already did.
Detroit's Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game on June 2, 2010, when first base umpire Jim Joyce blew a call, wiping away Galarraga's perfect game and his no-hitter. A tearful Joyce later acknowledged he'd blown the call, but what was done was done.
Here's a list of 2010's pitching heroes through July 26:
2010 No-Hitters
• July 26, 2010 - Matt Garza, Tampa Bay, 5-0 win over Detroit
• June 25, 2010 - Edwin Jackson, Arizona, 1-0 win over Tampa Bay
• May 29, 2010* - Roy Halladay, Philadelphia, 1-0 win over Florida
• May 9, 2010* - Dallas Braden, Oakland, 4-0 win over Tampa Bay
• April 17, 2010 - Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado, 4-0 win over Atlanta
*-Perfect Game
Source:
MLB No-Hitters, ESPN
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