The clubhouse celebration that awaited John Means on Wednesday was more than 50 years in the making for the Baltimore Orioles and more like a playoff berth being clinched than a regular-season win.
Only a wild pitch in the dirt kept the Orioles from celebrating perfection.
That is how dominant Means was in throwing the major leagues’ third no-hitter of the season in Baltimore’s 6-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Photo: AP
A franchise still in the middle of a rebuild with little to celebrate in the past few seasons was happy to put the spotlight on its tall lefty, who overmatched the Mariners with an array of unhittable fastballs, breaking pitches and a terrific changeup.
“I never really thought I’d be here. I’d always write MLB player when I was a kid on the sheet when asked what you wanted to do when you’re older, but I never thought it was a reality,” Means said. “And now that it is, and now I’m able to throw this, it’s crazy and I don’t even know how to describe it.”
This was not a fluke performance. Means has been one of the best pitchers in the American League at the start of this season. This was domination.
Photo: AP
Means (4-0) struck out 12 and walked none. Seattle’s only baserunner was Sam Haggerty after he raced to first after swinging at a curveball in the dirt for strike three with one out in the third inning.
The 1-2 pitch bounced away from catcher Pedro Severino and ended up being the only blemish that separated Means from a perfect game.
Haggerty was not on base long, getting thrown out attempting to steal second.
It was Means’ first complete game in 44 career big-league starts.
He said he could not care less that it was not a perfect game.
Means pitched the first non-perfect no-hitter in which the opposing team did not reach on a walk, hit by pitch or error, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Means threw 79 strikes among 113 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to 26 of 27 batters. When Seattle did make contact against the 28-year-old, it was weak and there were no threats to fall in for a hit.
Means lowered his ERA to 1.37 and became the first individual Orioles pitcher to toss a no-hitter since Jim Palmer against Oakland on Aug. 13, 1969.
It was the 10th no-hitter in franchise history, including six as Baltimore after four as the St Louis Browns.
“It’s such a crazy feeling. It’s such a whirlwind of an experience. I don’t think I’ve been able to process it yet, but to be in the same breath as Palmer, I don’t think that it gets much better than that,” Means said.
In a season in which batters are on track to hit a record-low .234, Means joined a no-hit club that includes San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove against the Texas Rangers on April 9 and Chicago White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon against the Cleveland Indians on April 14.
In addition, Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner pitched a seven-innings no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves on April 25, but that is not recognized as an official no-hitter by Major League Baseball because the game did not go at least nine innings, shortened under COVID-19 pandemic rules in effect for a second straight season.
The closest Seattle came to a hit through six innings was J.P. Crawford’s short fly ball in the sixth that center fielder Cedric Mullins caught with a slide. Kyle Lewis provided a threat with a drive leading off the eighth that Austin Hays caught on the left-field warning track.
Means got a popout from Dylan Moore, struck out Haggerty swinging and induced a soft liner from Crawford to end it, setting off a wild celebration with his teammates on the mound and a standing ovation from the crowd.
“He was good. He was really good,” Seattle’s Kyle Seager said. “He was in control. I don’t think we had hardly any balls that were close to being hits.”
D.J. Stewart and Ramon Urias had third-inning RBI singles against Yusei Kikuchi. Pat Valaika hit a solo homer off Kikuchi (1-2) in the sixth, and Trey Mancini connected for a three-run shot against Aaron Fletcher in the eighth.
It was Mancini’s sixth homer in a season that marked his return from colon cancer surgery.
In other games, it was:
‧ Cubs 6, Dodgers 5 (11i)
‧ Yankees 6, Astros 3
‧ Phillies 5, Brewers 4
‧ Athletics 4, Blue Jays 9
‧ Reds 1, White Sox 0 (10i)
‧ Red Sox 5, Tigers 6 (10i)
‧ Rockies 6, Giants 5
‧ Nationals 3, Braves 5
‧ Cardinals 4, Mets 1 (game 1)
‧ Cardinals 2, Mets 7 (game 2)
‧ Royals 4, Indians 5
‧ Padres 4, Pirates 2
‧ Angels 1, Rays 3
‧ Marlins 8, Diamondbacks 0
‧ Twins 1, Rangers 3
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