No Hitter

On Friday Jonathan Sanchez (born Nov. 19, 1982 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants with only his second start of the season, pitched a No Hitter the teams only No Hitter since 1976.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C, on Saturday. Photo: Harry E. Walker, MCT

Jonathan Sanchez Pitches Shocking No-Hitter for Giants

Yahoo Voices| Article by Robert Dougherty

Jonathan Sanchez is certainly not the most well pitcher in San Francisco, as Jonathan Sanchez has to pitch in the same rotation as Tim Lincecum. Jonathan Sanchez and most every other pitcher in the National League is under Lincecum’s shadow, plus Jonathan Sanchez also has to pitch with Randy Johnson. Yet to the shock of many, and to the delight of San Francisco, Jonathan Sanchez is the one who came through with the first no-hitter of the season. After no-hitting the Padres, Jonathan Sanchez isn’t obscure for the moment.

Starting pitcher for the Giants, Jonathan Sanchez struck out 12, a career high. The San Francisco Giants played the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, September 16, 2010, defeating the Dodgers 10-2. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Sanchez came into last night’s game with a career record of 12-24, and a record this season of 2-8. Yet Jonathan Sanchez only allowed one base runner all night, and that was on an error in the eighth inning. The rest of the San Diego Padres didn’t touch any bases, as the Giants won 8-0.

To further add to the storybook story, Sanchez’s father came down from Puerto Rico to see his son start for the very first time in Major League Baseball. Sanchez had lost his place in the starting rotation almost three weeks ago, but had to be put back in at the last minute.

Before his no-hitter, Sanchez was the most disappointing starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, outside of expensive flop Barry Zito. Sanchez and Zito were the less successful back end of an otherwise sterling pitching rotation for the Giants, which includes Cy Young winners Lincecum and Randy Johnson, and Matt Cain.

San Francisco Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez, left, is embraced by his father, Sigfredo Sanchez, at the end of a baseball game after pitching a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres Friday, July 10, 2009, in San Francisco. Sanchez said his father arrived in San Francisco the previous night. “This is the first time he has seen me pitch. This is a gift for him,” said Sanchez, “I feel awesome.” (AP Photo/Ben Margot) Photo: Ben Margot, AP

There had been several cases this year where a pitcher went into the seventh and eight innings with a chance to get a no-hitter. They were all broken up by the time the ninth inning started, yet Jonathan Sanchez defied that trend for the first no-hitter of the season.

Sanchez’s no-hitter is another major step forward for the San Francisco Giants, who had been stuck in baseball purgatory thanks to the Barry Bonds mess for years. In 2009, the Giants have gotten out of the doldrums and are currently leading the wild card race, trying to make their first postseason in years.

Jonathan Sanchez was expected to be part of a trade before the deadline, as the Giants build up for the pennant race. His no-hitter may increase his trade value, or convince the Giants to keep him around a while longer.

The Padres, on the other hand, were further embarrassed as they sit in the NL West cellar, with one of the worst records in baseball aside from the Washington Nationals.