The Detroit Tigers almost made history with a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.
Gunnar Henderson shattered their dreams with a triple in the ninth inning, but Detroit still won 1-0. Statcast revealed that Henderson’s hit was the only one with more than a 50/50 chance of success based on its speed and angle.
Here’s the heartbreaking moment:
Gunnar Henderson hits a triple to break up the no-hit bid with two outs in the 9th.
— MLB (@MLB)
This season has seen three near no-hitters lost at the last minute. J.D. Martinez hit a home run to spoil one for the Mets against the Braves, and Corey Seager did it with a two-run homer against the Astros. Now, it’s happened again .
Detroit’s pitching lineup for this game included Beau Brieske as an opener, followed by Brant Hurter, Brenan Hanifee, and Tyler Holton. Hurter faced most batters from innings two through eight. The four pitchers combined allowed only one walk and struck out 13 batters in total.
Pitching Strategy:
For weeks now, Detroit has been using openers and bullpen games. With Tarik Skubal and Keider Montero as regular starters and Casey Mize just back from injury, they’ve had to be creative. This was Brieske’s 10th start as an opener.
Fans might think this strategy is risky but exciting!
So far in 2024, there have been four no-hitters: Ronel Blanco of the Astros against Toronto Blue Jays; Dylan Cease of Padres versus Washington Nationals; Blake Snell of Giants against Cincinnati Reds; and three Cubs pitchers (Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson, Porter Hodge) against Pittsburgh Pirates.
Kerry Carpenter scored Detroit’s only run with a first-inning solo home run off Zach Eflin. This victory improved their record to 21-9 over their last 30 games, putting them within three games of clinching a wild-card spot.
What do you think about these close calls? Share your thoughts!
