So, here we are talking about a no-hitter AGAIN – see BBRT posts of May 3 and June 9 for more on baseball’s no-hit gems.  This time it’s the Giants’ Matt Cain and last night’s perfect game, a 10-0, 14-strikeout win over the Astros.

Perfect games are always surprising, although this one is less so than some others.  It was, after all, the fifth no-hitter and second perfect game already this season.  Second, Matt Cain was a pretty good candidate to toss a “perfecto” or at least a no-hitter.  Cain, who has a truly “nasty” four-pitch repertoire (four-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup – complemented by a less frequently used two-seamer) has taken no-hitters into the seventh inning five times in his career.  He has a 2.76 ERA since 2009, and has been touted for having “ace” stuff since he came to the major leagues in 2005.  He was also coming into last night’s game with a victory in each of his past six starts.

A long-time victim of poor run support – a 77-75 career record despite a 3.28 ERA, and 31 losses when he had given up three or fewer runs –  Cain had this moment in the sun (or, in this case, under the lights) coming.  BBRT says congrats Matt Cain, we knew you had it in you.

Now, if you want to talk about surprising pitching performances, how about Mets’ knuckleballer R.A. Dickey’s one-hit (of the infield variety), no-walk,  12-strikeout. complete game performance of last night.  This  makes Dickey – who came into the season with a 41-50 career record and an ERA north of 4.00 – 10-1, 2.20 ERA on the year, with 19 walks and 90 strikeouts in 90 innings.   His ten wins tie Dickey for the league lead with another surprising hurler – Lance Lynn, who last night went to 10-2 (2.42 ERA) for the Cardinals, striking out 12 in 7.1 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball.   On the season, Lynn has walked 27 and struck out 86 in 81.2 innings pitched.  The 25-year-old Lynn, who was slated to spend the year in the Redbird’s bullpen, was called into starting service due to injuries to Carpenter and Wainwright, and he’s made the most of it.

Matt Cain’s perfect fame – mildly surprising.  Dickey and Lynn leading the NL in victories, even more so.

R.A. Dickey’s 10 wins for the Mets. Now there’s a surprising performance.

A-Rod continues his "trot" to the Hall of Fame.

On June 12, 2012, Alex Rodriguez continued his march to the Hall of Fame by stroking his 23^rd “Grand Slam” home run.  It was an historic and momentous blast.  Historic because it tied A-Rod with Lou Gehrig for the all-time lead in career grand Slams.  Momentous because it tied a game the Yankees were trailing (4-0 to the Braves in the eighth) and led to a 6-4 win that kept the Yankees in sole possession of first place (one game ahead of the Orioles).

A-Rod acknowledged history and momentum.  “Lou Gehrig is not only one of the all-time greats, but he’s one of ours,” A-Rod said after the game.  “He was a Yankee.”  Noting the Yankees’ building momentum, he said, “I really felt it was a swing for the team.  I feel like everybody needed that hit and we’ve all been waiting for it.”

BBRT says congrats to A-Rod, and would like to share some Grand Slam trivia with it blog followers.

– While A-Rod and Lou Gehrig top the career Grand Slam list with 23, they are joined in the top five positions (six actually, a tie for fifth) by Manny Ramirez (21), Eddie Murray (19), Willie McCovey (18 and the NL record holder), and Robin Ventura (18).

– Another Yankee, Don Mattingly, set the current single season record in 1987 with six Grand Slams (tied by Travis Hafner of the Indians in 2006).  Notably, Mattingly’s six Grand Slams were the only base-loaded homers of his 14-year career.

– Sticking with the Yankees, they are the only ML team to hit 3 grand slams in one game – coming on August 25, 2011 against the Oakland As at Yankee Stadium (Robinson Cano, 5^th inning; Russell Martin-6^th; Curtis Granderson-8^th).  The Yankees, who trailed 7-1 after three innings, won the game 22-9.

– The NL record for Grand Slams in a season is 5, held by Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks and former Cardinal Albert Pujols.

– Four players have hit a Grand Slam in their very first major league at bat:  Bill Duggleby (Philadelphia, NL, 1898); Jeremy Hermida (Florida, 2005); Kevin Kouzmanoff (Cleveland, 2006); and Daniel Nava (Boston, 2010). Duggleby, Kouzmanoff and Nava all hit their Slams on the first pitch they ever saw in the majors.

– In 1961, when the Orioles’ Jim Gentile hit a then record-tying 5 Grand Slams in a season,  Baltimore’s Chuck Estrada was the Orioles’ starting pitcher each time Gentile struck a four-run blow – winning all four games (On May 9, Gentile hit two Grand Slams in a game against the Twins at Minnesota).

– Only 13 players have hit two grand slams in a game – and only once did the player accomplish this feat in his home park.  Nomar Garciaparra hit two Slams for the Red Sox at Fenway in a May 10, 1999, win over the Mariners.

– Bill Mueller of the Red Sox is the only switch hitter to hit Grand Slams from both sides of the plate in the same game –  in the 7^th and 8^th innings of a 14-7 Red Sox win at Texas on July 29, 2003.

–  Atlanta Braves pitcher  Tony Cloninger  was the first National Leaguer to hit two Grand Slams in one game – a July 3, 1966,  17-3 complete game victory over the Giants at Candlestick.  He remains the only pitcher with a two-GS game.

– Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis is the only player to hit two Grand Slams in the same inning – an 11-run third inning as the Cards beat the Dodgers 12-5 on April 23, 1999.   Dodgers’ starting pitcher Chan Ho Park gave up both grand slams (Why was he still in there?) becoming the answer to the question, Who is the only pitcher to give up two grand slams to the same batter in one inning?

Park’s inning went like this:

Single; Hit By Pitch; Single; Tatis Grand Slam; Ground Out; Home Run;  Walk; Walk; Safe on Fielder’s Choice (attempted sacrifice); Safe on Error; Single; Fly Out; Tatis’ Second Grand Slam; Call to Bull Pen; Pop Out.

Grand Slams – a grand part of the grand old game.

As BBRT considers the concept of a six-pitcher no-hitter, it seems to be more of a statement of the hitters’ collective futility than of pitching quality.

Ernie Shore - while with the Red Sox - finished what the "Babe" started - MLB's first combined no-hitter.

When BBRT considers the concept of a six-pitcher no-hitter, it seems to be more of a statement of the hitters’ collective futility than of pitching quality.   More than a sustained no-hitter, the six-hurler no-hitter is a collection of good innings.  Still, combined no-hitters do make for interesting score cards and bits of baseball history.  Let’s take a look at past combined no-hitters and what made them unique.

The first-ever combined no-hitter may have been the strangest. It came on June 23, 1917, when Red Sox ace lefty Babe Ruth (Ruth had won 23 games in 1916 and was on his way to a 24-win season in 1917) started on the mound at Fenway, facing the Washington Senators.  Ruth walked the first batter of the game – Senators’ second baseman Ray Morgan – on four pitches.  The hot-headed Ruth quickly earned an ejection for arguing with the home plate umpire, and the Red Sox brought in ErnieShore(on just two-days rest).  Morgan was quickly thrown out stealing and Shore went on to retire the next 26 batters in order (two strikeouts) for a combined no-hitter that was close to a perfect game.

The next combined no-hitter didn’t occur until 50 years later – on April 30, 1967 – when Baltimore Orioles Steve Barber and Stu Miller combined to no-hit the Tigers in Baltimore.  This “gem” is most noted for the fact that it is the only combined no-hitter in which the team that was no-hit managed to get the win.  Barber went 8.2 innings, but walked ten (striking out three) in the 2-1 loss. Despite the walks, it looked pretty good for Barber going into the top of the ninth.  The Orioles had scored in the eighth to take a 1-0 lead.  The ninth went like this.  Barber walked Tiger first basemen Norm Cash to start the inning (Dick Tracewski ran for Cash); Barber then walked light-hitting shortstop Ray Oyler; Tiger pitcher Earl Wilson bunted the runners to second and third; Willie Horton fouled out pinch hitting for second baseman Dick McCauliffe; Jake Wood was brought in to run for Oyler; a Barber wild pitch with center fielder Mickey Stanley at the plate enabled Tracewski to score, tying the game; then Stanley walked and that was all for Barber.  Stu Miller came on and saw third baseman Don Wert safe on an error, with Wood scoring.  Then, finally, right fielder Al Kaline made the third out of the inning.  The Orioles went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the night and the no-hitter was completed – and lost.  The only other losing no hitter came on April 23, 1964, when Houston Colt .45s hurler Ken Johnson was beaten 1-0 by the Reds with an unearned ninth-inning run.  There have also been two eight-inning no-hitter losses (the home team did not bat in the bottom of the ninth), but MLB does not recognize these as official no- hitters.

September 28, 1975, saw the Oakland As’ Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers no-hit the Angels in a 5-0 win in Oakland.  The only tidbit here is that this no-hitter took place on the final day of the regular season – one of only two final day no-hitters (the other being Mike Witt’s 1984 perfect game against the Rangers at Arlington Stadium.)

On July 28, 1976, John “Blue Moon” Odom (pitching for the White Sox) combined with Francisco Barrios to no-hit Odom’s former team, the As. In a 2-1 victory in Oakland, Odom started and went just five innings, walking nine and striking out three. His ninth walk was the lead-off hitter in the sixth inning of a 1-1 tie, which earned Odom an early exit despite the fact that he had not given up a hit.  Barrios tossed the final four innings, giving up 2 walks and striking out two.  (The 11 walks in this game is the most given up in a no-hitter).

On April 11, 1990, Mark Langston started a combined no-hitter for the Angels, playing at home against the Mariners.  The Angels scored in the bottom of the seventh to take a 1-0 lead and Langston, who had thrown 99 pitches in this early-season start, was relieved by Mike Witt, who closed it out with 2 perfect innings (two strikeouts).  Of interest here is that it makes Witt the only hurler to throw a no-hitter as a starter and participate in a no-hitter as a reliever.  (As noted earlier, Witt threw a perfect game for the Angels against the Texas Rangers on September 30, 1984.)

July 13, 1991, the Orioles’ Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, and Greg Olson no-hit the As 2-0 … notable as one of two combined no-hitters that season.

September 11, 1991, Braves Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena no-hit the Padres 1-0 in the first National League combined no hitter.

The only extra inning, combined no-hitter came on June 12, 1997 – with the Pittsburgh Pirates downing the Houston Astros 3-0 in ten innings on a walk-off three-run homer by pinch-hitter Mark Smith.  The game was started by Francisco Cordova, who went nine innings with 2 walks and ten strikeouts (121 pitches).  Ricardo Rincon relieved in the tenth, walking one and striking out one.  As you would expect, Cordova’s nine innings are the most pitched by any one hurler in a combined no-no.

On June 11, 2003, Houston Astros’ starter Roy Oswalt aggravated a groin injury in the second inning of what went on to become a combined no-hit, 8-0 victory over the Yankees (at Yankee Stadium). Houston used six pitchers in that game, setting the record tied by the Mariners yesterday.  In addition, it was the first inter-league combined no-hitter.   For more on the Astros’ 2003 feat, see the BBRT May 3, 2012, post on Jered Weaver’ s no-hitter.

And that brings us up to the June 8 Mariners / Dodgers game.

Josh Hamilton trotting home - a familiar site in Texas ... and parks north.

Josh Hamilton’s recent one-week home run binge – 9 homers in seven days, brought back memories of Frank “Hondo” Howard, who holds the record for homers in a week with 10.  Not to take anything away from Hamilton’s dramatic performance, but Hondo’s run may have been even more spectacular.  It came in 1968 – known as the “Year of the Pitcher” for the lack of offensive achievement.   It also was achieved in one less game, primarily on the road (only one home game) and with considerable more travel (Howard’s week included games Washington D.C., Boston, Cleveland and Detroit).

Let’s look at these two momentous long-ball achievements.

Hamilton’s week stretched from May 7-13 (7 games, one doubleheader) and included 14 hits in 30 at bats (.467), 9 HRs, 10 Runs, 18 RBIs, 4 walks and 11 strikeouts.  Hamilton’s total included six two-run homers, and three solo shots.  He homered in 5 of the 7 games, including May 8’s record-tying four-homer performance.  His victims included:  Jason Berken; Jake Arrieta (2); Zach Philips; Darren O’Day; Tommy Hunter; Jerome Williams (2); and C.J. Wilson.

The Ranger slugger’s run included four road games (at Baltimore) and three at home (vs. the Angels) – with the Rangers winning four of six.  In the streak, the Rangers scored a total of 61 runs, with Hamilton driving in 29.5% of that total.

Frank Howard’s 1968 streak also came in May, from the 12^th through the 18^th.  His week included only six games and he collected 13 hits in 20 at bats (.650); 10 HRs (the one-week record); 10 runs; 17 RBIs; just one walk; and four strikeouts.  He homered in all six games, with 4 solo homers, three 2-run dingers and one 3-run shot.  His victims included:  Fred Lasher;  Mickey Lolich (3); Lee Stange; Ray Culp; Jose Santiago; Sam McDowell (2); and Joe Sparma.

The streak included just one home game (Tigers) and five on the road at Boston (2), Cleveland (1) and Detroit (2).  The Senators went 3-3 and scored 29 runs in the six games (Howard drove in 58.5% of the Senators runs in the streak).

Hamilton’s 2012 streak

Date                      Hits-At Bats        HR             R             RBI         BB           K

May 7                       3-4                    1              1              2              2            2

May 8                       5-5                    4              4              8              0            0

May 10 (1)              1-4                       0              0              0              0            2

May 10 (2)              1-4                       1              1              2              1            2

May 11                    3-4                       2              3              2              1            0

May 12                    1-4                       1              1              1              0            3

May 13                    2-5                       0              0              3              0            2

Howard’s 1968 streak

Date                      Hits-At Bats        HR              R             RBI         BB             K

May 12                   2-4                       2              2              2              0              0

May 13 (off)

May 14                    3-4                       2              2              3              0              0

May 15                    2-4                       1              1              2              0              1

May 16                    2-3                       2              2              4              1              1

May 17                    1-4                       1              1              2              0              1

May 18                    3-5                       2              2              4              0              1

J.J. Hardy - Twice the middle man in a three-homer start.

As we move through the 2012 season, rarities abound. A perfect game (one of only 21 in baseball history); a four-homer game (one of just 16 – also making 2012 the only season in which we saw a perfect game AND a four-homer game), and yesterday, for just the fourth time ever, a team started off a game with back-to-back-to-back home runs.

The team was the surprising Orioles, with Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis leading off a 6-5 home victory over the Rangers with long balls (number one of the season for Flaherty, number eight for Hardy and number five for Markakis).

Here’s some tidbits about the contests in which a team has started off with three straight dingers.

The first three-homer jump start came on April 13, 1987, as the Padres’ Marvelle Wynn, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk pulled off the feat in a 13-6 home loss to the Giants. The Padres remain the only team to start with three long balls and still lose. They also had the least likely trio to pull of the accomplishment, as Wynn, Gwynn and Kruk (sounds like a law firm to me) totaled only 29 homers for the year. Wynn, in fact, finished the 1987 season with only 2 roundtrippers. It was also the first homer of the 1987 season for all three players.

The second three-homer start came on May 28, 2003, courtesy of the Braves’ Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield – in a 15-3 home victory over the Reds. Furcal, DeRosa and Sheffield totaled 60 homers for the year.

The third group of long-ball initiators was made up of the Brewers Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun. They joined the list on September 9, 2007,  in a 10-5 road win over the Reds – making the Brewers the only team to achieve the feat on the road; the Reds the only team to be victimized by a three-homer start at home, as well as the only team to have the feat accomplished against them twice. (Weeks, Hardy and Braun totaled 76 homers for the year).

Notably, by being part of yesterday’s three-homer Orioles’ start, J.J. Hardy became the only player to twice be part of an event that has occurred only four times in MLB history. (Boy, don’t we keep track of everything in baseball.)