Mariners Iwakuma Throws a no hitter

On Wednesday, in front of a crowd with just a little over 25,000 in attendance at Safeco Field, Mariners Pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma became the second Japanese born player to throw a no hitter. The Mariners, who have been scuffling, won 3-0 over the Baltimore Orioles who are battling for a division crown and a playoff berth at the moment.

Iwakuma retired the first nine batters before allowing his first walk to Manny Machado in the fourth, and then another in the same inning to Chris Davis. His third walk came to Jonathan Schoop in the eighth inning. Iwakuma also struck out seven batters, but mostly had the ball in play for his defense to make the plays behind him.

The 34-year old right hander was out for about two months with a right lat strain this season but has pitched good as of late. In his fourth Major League season, he becomes the fifth Mariner ever to throw a no hitter, joining the likes of Randy Johnson and Felix Hernandez.

Ironically, the Mariners have thrown the last two no hitters for the American League. Before Wednesday, the AL has not tossed a no-no since King Felix did back in 2012.

Major League Baseball has seen great pitching performances so far during this season. This was the fourth no hitter in the majors. The other three were by Chris Heston (San Francisco Giants), Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals) and Cole Hamels (Philadelphia Phillies). Pitchers have seem to be dominating this season, one can imagine that we could see another no-no or perfect game before it’s all set and done.

While the races are heating up around the league, The Athletes Hub will keep everyone informed on all the latest developments from breaking news to Division and Wildcard races.