It’s been a disappointing season for Seattle Mariners fans. Poor pitching, low production, and frustrating losses dashed preseason hopes of a playoff run. All in all, there hasn’t been a lot to cheer for in the Mariners camp, until yesterday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Hisashi Iwakuma threw a no-hitter and reminded us all why we love baseball. Baseball is not the flashiest sport, nor the fastest paced or the highest scoring. Baseball is a sport of patience and poetry. Yesterday, fans of the game watched Iwakuma as he patiently and poetically worked his way through nine hitless innings.
It certainly wasn’t the prettiest no-hitter the league has ever seen. By all accounts, Iwakuma got lucky on a couple pitches left up in the zone that were missed by hitters early in the game. He pitched his way out of a few tight spots following the three walks he allowed.
Through the game, he struck out seven of the opposing Baltimore Orioles hitters and relied on his defensive support to back him up, causing drama right up to the end. Kyle Seager made a tough catch right up against the wall for the first out of the ninth, followed by a ground out and a pop fly to center field to end the game. Iwakuma’s teammates stormed out to embrace him on the mound, celebrating a sunny spot in the perpetually overcast Mariners season.
Before the start of this year, Iwakuma was projected to be one of the best starting pitchers in the league. Unfortunately, injury prevented this from coming to pass and he sat out the entirety of May and June making him yet another Mariners player that didn’t live up to his preseason hype.
But Mariners fans got to forget about all. They got to leave behind the feelings of disappointment surrounding this season, if only for a day, and celebrate history being made at Safeco Field.
The last three no-hitters in the American league have been by Mariners pitchers, the last in 2012 by Felix Hernandez.
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