15 amazing facts about Fiers' no-hitter
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A's right-hander Mike Fiers delivered the first no-hitter of the 2019 MLB season on Tuesday, completing the rare feat against the Reds in a 2-0 win at Oakland Coliseum.
Here are 15 amazing facts about the historic night:
? Fiers' no-hitter was the 300th in MLB history, including the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It was also the first no-hitter since James Paxton's for the Mariners against the Blue Jays almost a year ago to the day, on May 8, 2018.
? This was the second no-hitter of Fiers' career. He threw one for the Astros on Aug. 21, 2015, against the Dodgers.
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? Fiers is the 35th pitcher to throw multiple no-hitters, including the postseason, per Elias. The most recent to accomplish the feat was Jake Arrieta, who threw his second career no-hitter for the Cubs on April 21, 2016 -- also against the Reds. That was the most recent time the Reds were no-hit before Fiers got them on Tuesday.
? Fiers¡¯ first no-hitter came a little more than two months after his 30th birthday. That makes him just the seventh pitcher to have multiple no-hitters in his 30s or beyond.
? The A's now have two of the past four no-hitters in MLB. Sean Manaea threw their most recent one before Fiers, against the Red Sox on April 21 of last season. Paxton's and the Dodgers' combined no-hitter against the Padres in Mexico last May are the only ones between Fiers' and Manaea's.
? Fiers' no-hitter is the 13th in A's franchise history. It's the eighth since the team moved to Oakland in 1968.
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? Fiers threw 131 pitches in Tuesday's no-hitter. The last pitcher to throw at least 130 pitches in a no-no was ¡ Fiers. He threw 134 pitches when he no-hit Los Angeles.
? The last pitcher to throw 130-plus pitches in any Major League game was the Braves' Sean Newcomb, last July 29 (134 pitches). In that game, Newcomb fell one out shy of a no-hitter against the Dodgers, losing his bid on a single by Chris Taylor.
? Both of Fiers' no-hitters have been in Interleague games. That gives him two of the six no-hitters thrown in Interleague Play -- the most recent two.
? In an odd twist, Fiers¡¯ performance means that each of the past seven pitchers to throw a no-hitter for an American League team have played in the AL West. The A¡¯s have two of those, the Mariners have three and the Astros and Angels both have one. Yet, none of those seven have come against another AL West team.
? Besides his two no-hitters, Fiers has started 160 MLB games and never once recorded an out beyond the eighth inning. That makes him the first pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in both of his first two complete games, according to STATS.
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? The Reds only hit three balls that had an expected batting average above .250, according to Statcast, based on their exit velocity and launch angle: Yasiel Puig¡¯s second-inning fly ball to the center field warning track (.860), Joey Votto¡¯s sixth-inning fly ball that center fielder Ramon Laureano pulled back from over the wall (.620), and Jose Iglesias¡¯ eighth-inning groundout (.340).
? It just so happens that when Fiers threw his first no-hitter, the opposing starting pitcher was Brett Anderson, then of the Dodgers. Anderson is now Fiers¡¯ teammate on the A¡¯s and is scheduled to start against the Reds on Wednesday.
? Prior to Tuesday, opponents had hit .297 this season against Fiers, who had allowed 44 hits in 37 innings. That was tied for the seventh-highest opponent average among 100 qualified pitchers, while Fiers¡¯ 10.7 hits-per-nine-innings rate was ninth highest in that group.
? Meanwhile, Fiers¡¯ 6.81 season ERA entering the game is the highest for any pitcher at the time of his no-hitter -- with a minimum of 25 innings -- since ERA became an official statistic in 1913, according to STATS.