With what will probably be the quickest forgotten no-hitter since a different Sanchez (Anibal) threw one, San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez blanked San Diego for 2009’s first no-no.
Having never gotten past summer league baseball in high school, I realize that I am in no position to judge, but c’mon…if someone called you tonight and told you that a member of the Giants staff was on his way to throwing a no-hitter, you’d be more apt to think they were talking about Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson or Matt Cain.
Hell…catch me on an average day and I’d be more likely to come up with Atlee Hammaker or Mike Krukow’s names LONG before I’d utter “Jonathan Sanchez”.
All kidding aside, when it was all said and done, Sanchez did what only a dozen other Giants have done. And to top it off…he did it at his home park in front of his Dad.
Classy.
But up until a week, or even a few days ago, it wouldn’t have even been Sanchez on the bump or Eli Whiteside behind the dish.
You see, Sanchez has been terrible this season. So bad, he hadn’t started a game nearly three weeks and he had been banished to the bullpen. If the “Big Unit” doesn’t hurt his shoulder…Sanchez is watching from the sidelines and not even imagining being in the starting rotation.
And Whiteside?
The only reason he was calling the shots was because normal catcher Bengie Molina was with his wife at the hospital where she was about to give birth.
So while they’re not exactly Don Larsen and Yogi Berra and a mid-season Giants-Padres matchup doesn’t have the same ring to it as Game Five of the World Series, the Sanchez and Whiteside pairing brought the Giants their 13th no-hitter in franchise history…the team’s first in 33 years.
Not too shabby.
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