St Louis Cardinals’ starting pitcher Jake Westbrook delivers a pitch to the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis yesterday. The outing for one inning, will probably be Westbrooks last appearance as a member of the Cardinals who won 4-0.
MIAMI: Miami’s Henderson Alvarez threw a no-hitter on Sunday’s final day of the Major League Baseball season as the Marlins scored a run in the last inning to edge Detroit 1-0.
The 23-year-old Venezuelan right-hander hurled 66 strikes in 99 pitches over nine innings, striking out four Tigers batters while walking one, hitting another and allowing a third base runner on a fielding error.
But the Marlins batters could not produce a run in the first eight innings, leaving the game a scoreless deadlock entering the bottom of the ninth to bring about a bizarre and dramatic finish to Alvarez’s no-hit effort.
“I was so excited,” Alvarez said through a translator. “I thought by the ninth inning that I just needed three outs for the no-hitter. With my emotions and nerves, I kind of lost track that we hadn’t scored a run yet.”
Giancarlo Stanton hit a one-out single to centerfield off Tigers relief pitcher Luke Putkonen, took second base on a Logan Morrison single and both runners advanced on a wild pitch by Putkonen.
Adeiny Hechavarria grounded out and Chris Coughlan walked to load the bases with two outs, bringing pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to the plate.
But Putkonen threw another wild pitch, the ball rolling to the backstop as Stanton raced home from third base for the game’s only run to touch off a bench-clearing celebration as Miami players mobbed Alvarez.
“I was hoping for a wild pitch,” Alvarez said. “When I saw the wild pitch I got really excited.”
It was the first walk-off no-hitter in the major leagues since 1997.
“The no-hitter just makes me go into the off-season wanting to work even harder,” Alvarez said. “It’s a way to motivate me and prepare me for next season.”
Rookie team-mate Jose Fernandez pulled off Alvarez’s jersey and showed it to the spectators as the crowd roared.
Alvarez had been in the on-deck circle waiting for a time at bat that could not have come in that inning and jumped for joy when the victory was complete and he became the fifth pitcher in Marlins’ history to toss a no-hitter.REUTERS
