Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma throws no-hitter against Orioles

The only other Japanese-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Hideo Nomo, who had two: September 17, 1996 at Colorado while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers; and April 4, 2001 at Baltimore while pitching for Boston.

“I was aware of [the no-hitter] obviously”, he said, “but I kind of felt it real deep in my heart in the ninth inning”. He leads the AL in K/BB, and while Yankees Stadium is a hitter’s park, Pineda has just six walks in nine starts on the road, with one complete game. Iwakuma joins Chris Heston of the Giants, Max Scherzer of the Nationals, and Cole Hamels then of the Phillies in tossing no-hitters this season. Iwakuma’s is the first no-hitter in the American League since teammate Felix Hernandez tossed a flawless game against Tampa Bay almost three years ago on August 15, 2012. Koufax and Tom Seaver (1968-76) are the only pitchers in modern NL history to accomplish the feat in six or more consecutive seasons.

An over-the-shoulder catch from third baseman Kyle Seager in foul territory and a game-ending grab in center field by outfielder Austin Jackson ended a knife-edged ninth inning and allowed Iwakuma to get the no-hitter. Baltimore has been no-hit seven times.

Iwakuma (4-2) turned in jubilation when Jackson made the catch as his teammates rushed to mob him at the mound. Hernandez was wearing a fuzzy bear hat that was handed out as a promotion earlier in the season to honor Iwakuma.

And yes, I understand that there is a lot of baseball yet to be played – 49 games in fact. “He’s only getting better”.

Baltimore was no-hit for the seventh time in franchise history and first since Boston’s Clay Buchholz in 2007. Seager then assisted on the second out for a 5-3 putout of Manny Machado. Baltimore’s best chance at a hit came on Parra’s groundball with one out in the fourth that nearly dribbled into right field but was gloved by Robinson Cano, who threw across his body to get the out at first.

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis added a two-out walk in that inning, but Iwakuma got out of the jam by striking out designated hitter Jimmy Paredes.

And I mean, honestly, as far as “the play” goes in a given no-hitter, this one was not a very exciting one. Because of that, it wasn’t something I thought about. “Routine ground balls, popups, I mean, he was just phenomenal”.

Talented but often injured since arriving from Japan in 2012, the 34-year-old Iwakuma, a native of Tokyo, didn’t overpower the Orioles.

Iwakuma missed 2 ½ months early in the season after straining a muscle in his back and side. “Also, I was happy to be able to watch such a game in person”.

Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves for a good part of the afternoon. “There’s not much coming out of his hand that looks like something you want to swing at. He can work down in the zone, he can elevate the fastball”. The Birds are now five games behind the Blue Jays, who might never lose again.

Japanese baseball fans keenly follow their players in the U.S. major leagues, and game highlights of their exploits are a staple of sports news broadcasts, and reported in the sports pages of newspapers.