Tim Lincecum Throws Second No Hitter

Tim Lincecum has thrown his second career no hitter against the Padres. The first time he pitched a no hitter Lincecum was in San Diego and threw a career high amount of pitches at 148 in part due to 13 strikeouts and 4 walks. This time he threw a significantly lower amount of pitches at 113. In this no hitter Lincecum recorded 6 strikeouts and allowed just one walk. Lincecum not only pitched a no hitter, but he got 2 hits and scored 2 runs, followed by a walk in the 8th inning. He did it all on this special Wednesday afternoon.

Lincecum's season seems to be a repeat of his 2013 season with plenty of ups and downs. Last season he finished with a 4.37 ERA. This season he now has a 4.42 ERA with a 6-5 record and 83 strikeouts. The small framed right hander now has 2 Cy Young Awards, 2 World Series, and 2 no hitters, giving him a very nice track record.

2014 has been a very exciting season and has already featured three no hitters, all three coming from the National League West. The outing by Josh Beckett against the Philadelphia Phillies, the near perfect game against the Colorado Rockies by Clayton Kershaw, and now Tim Lincecum's no hitter against the San Diego Padres. It is safe to say the National League West is one of the most exciting divisions to watch. The San Francisco Giants lead the Dodgers by just 3.5 games. It will be very entertaining to watch down the stretch, and Lincecum will be a very big part of it.

Clayton KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKershaw No Hits the Rockies

Clayton Kershaw tossed one of the most dominant games in Major League history. A no hitter is historic in its own respect, but to strikeout 15 batters with just over 100 pitches is unheard of. This no hitter is the second for the Dodgers this season after Josh Beckett's no-no against the Phillies in Philadelphia. I have compared Kershaw to Sandy Koufax plenty of times, and here is a side by side video of the two pitching.

Kershaw's no hitter would have probably been a perfect game if it were not for a Hanley Ramirez error in the 7th inning which allowed Cory Dickerson to reach base. Other than that base runner, Kershaw did not allow any others. Here is a video of every play of the game announced by the legendary Vin Scully.

Kershaw's stats are going back to where they usually are after a hiccup early in the season. His ERA sits at 2.52 and his WHIP sits at 0.92 with 86 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched. He also holds a 7-2 record. It appears he is on his way to yet another sub 3.00 ERA season, maybe even another sub 2.00 ERA season. You can expect Kershaw to compete for the All Star Game start with Cueto, Wainwright, Teheran, and Hudson.

Josh Beckett No Hits the Phillies

On Sunday May 25, Josh Beckett tossed his first career no hitter. Beckett has been stellar all year for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and no one expected him to be this good. In one report he has been using his curve ball a lot more and creating a lot of variation in the pitches he is throwing. Beckett has already surpassed the amount of innings he threw last year and his ERA is the lowest since his 2011 season at 2.43. In a rotation with names such as Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu, and Haren, I think we all find it surprising that Beckett is the second best. The two time World Series champ will look to find more success against the Pirates in his next start.

No No Timmy

One of my favorite pitchers has finally completed his share of history. He is a two time Cy Young Award winner, a two time World Series Champion, and now he has thrown a no hitter. I'm talking the Freakshow himself, Tim Lincecum. It was just a regular Saturday night start against the Padres, but 148 pitches later Petco Park and the Giants went wild.

Although Lincecum and the Giants have been short of success this season, this may be the turning point of their season. With a fantastic pitching performance
from Lincecum and sending four players to the All Star Game, along with the upcoming trade deadline, the Giants should get ready for their run to the playoffs. I predicted they would make the playoffs, and i'm sticking with it.

Lincecum will have more than a week to recover from the 148 pitch performance, but it doesn't even bother me that much. I've seen Lincecum throw over 130 pitches before and an extra 15 shouldn't faze him. He was mechanically sound the whole game and didnt try to throw any harder as it when on. He actually relied more on his breaking and off speed pitches in the final three innings more than his fastball, making him nearly unpredictable.

Nova-CAIN

Matt Cain must have used some novacaine on the Astros, because he made their bats numb. A perfect game for Matt Cain. The fifth no hitter (not including the Mariners' combined no hitter) of the 2012 season and the second perfect game. The Giants' right hander struck out 14 batters and didn't give up a hit or a walk over 9 innings pitched.

Not only did Matt Cain dominate the Astros he also got a hit and scored a run. This guy can do it all. Congrats to Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants.

Cain also got a little help from his defense with 3 defensive plays that were almost hits. To view all 27 outs and the amazing plays click HERE

Combo Order

The Seattle Mariners had a combined no hitter on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kevin Milwood pitched 6 scoreless and more importantly hit less innings. After the 6th inning he had to leave the game with an injury. Furbush pitched 2/3 of an inning, Pryor pitched 1/3 of an inning, Luetge pitched 1/3 of an inning, League pitched 2/3 of an inning, and Wilhelmsen pitched an entire inning and recorded the save. None of the preceding pitchers allowed a hit.

Click HERE to see all 27 outs. 

Don't Mess With a Johan

I'm almost positive that you love my corny titles, but on Friday, June 1st you did not want to mess with Johan Santana. Santana put together a gem; pitching the first no hitter in Mets history and the third in 2012.

It was no easy task to get through the power packed lineup of the St. Louis Cardinals, but Santana did. At 134 a career high Santana walked 5 batters but did not allow a hit. The defending world champs had a few well struck balls, but the defense backed up Santana. Former Met Carlos Betran struck a ball down the line and it was called foul. The replay later revealed  that it was a fair ball, but the umpire's call stood.

There have been 122 no hitters since the Mets were added to the MLB in 1962. In 2012 the Mets can finally say they have pitched a no hitter.

Why Does Everything Happen On Friday?

The first thing to write about is Justin Verlander's dance with a no hitter. The Tigers supplied Verlander with a 6 run lead entering the top of the ninth. Verlander had just over 100 pitches and 12 strikeouts with 1 out into the 9th. Then a fate that happened to so many pitchers before a seeing eye single up the middle. Verlander finished the game with a complete game shutout 1 hit and 2 walks. It would have been his 3rd no hitter.

The second thing that happened on Friday was just dandy. Dandy Andy, Andy Pettitte looked like he was still in the early 2000s with his stellar performance on Friday. Pettitte pitched 8 shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out 9 and allowed only 4 hits and 1 walk. Pettitte's fastball was around 87-89 MPH, but it was his curveball and his cutter that looked just masterful. The Reds' hitters just couldn't hit it. The Yankees won 4-0

The Blue Jays beat up on the Mets on Friday night in a 14-5 victory in Toronto. JP Arencibia went 3-5 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI's and 3 runs scored. The Jays had their way with the Mets not only on offense but on pitching.  Ricky Romero pitched 6 innings allowing only 3 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 6.

Kerry Wood was a phenom in the late 90s and early 2000s, but in 2012 he retires from baseball. In his final game with the Cubs Kerry Wood did what he did best, struck out his batter. A 3 pitch strikeout to ride off into the sunset with must be nice. You have to wonder what would the Cubs be like if Mark Prior and Kerry Wood would have stayed healthy, but anyway Wood takes his 4 200+ strikeout seasons home.

Another thing that has been occurring in the past few weeks was a heat up from Albert Pujols. Pujols has a few home runs now, but still isn't his MVP self. He is scoring runs and collecting RBI's and the Angels are winning ballgames. It looks like Pujols may be arriving soon.