Dodgers 23-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler in just his third major-league start did the heavy lifting in a combined no-hitter of the Padres on Friday night at Estadio Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.
Here's the final out ...
Walker worked six hitless before being lifted after throwing 93 pitches. From there, relievers Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia, and Adam Liberatore closed out the 12th combined no-hitter in major-league history. It's the 23rd no-hitter in Dodgers franchise history, which is the highest team total by a significant margin.
As for the particulars, the four Dodger hurlers combined for 13 strikeouts, five walks, and 146 pitches. Buehler went 1 for 3 at the plate, so, yes, he out-hit the entire Padres' lineup on the night. Also, this no-hitter made for a couple of MLB firsts ...
- Per the AP, it's the first major-league no-hitter to take place outside of the U.S. or Canada.
- Per STATS, it's the first time in MLB history that a no-hitter and a 3,000th hit have taken place on the same day. (Albert Pujols is of course the author of said 3,000th hit.)
Oh, and speaking of Mr. Pujols and no-hitters ...
Part of the backdrop to Friday's no-hitter was of course the setting. It's the first time since 1999 that a regular-season MLB game has been played in Mexico. As for Estadio Monterrey, it seems an unlikely venue for a no-hitter ...
That altitude and those shallow fences at least in theory worked worked against Buehler and company on Friday night, but nevertheless the Padres failed to register a hit. Here's the setting ...
And speaking of elevation ...
Circling back to those notable on-field events, here's the final out as heard and seen from the upper deck ...
The most important takeaway? The Orioles' mascot appeared to be in attendance for some reason ...
All right.