O, Canada! Mariners’ James Paxton throws no-hitter in home country
Just when you thought he couldn’t get much better than 16 strikeouts.
James Paxton, welcome to history.
A national stage, a nation away, Paxton pitched his finest performance in his home country.
No hitter.
Paxton threw the sixth no-hitter in Seattle Mariners history, recording his milestone performance in the Mariners’ 5-0 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto on Tuesday.
Paxton was born in Ladner, British Columbia. Last week he became the first pitcher from Canada to strike out 16 batters in a game. On Tuesday he became just the second Canadian to pitch a no-hitter, joining the Philadelphia Athletics’ Dick Fowler who did that in 1945.
And, poetically, the big left-handed Canadian did it at the Rogers Centre, with a Canadian crowd cheering him on and giving him a standing ovation at the end. Paxton, aka "The Big Maple," is just the third pitcher to throw a no-hitter there, joining Oakland’s Dave Stewart (1990) and Detroit’s Justin Verlander (2011).
"Of all the places," Paxton said in a postgame TV interview. "To do it in Toronto — that's pretty amazing."
What a game.
"You can't make this stuff up," he told reporters afterward.
Paxton had never before thrown a complete game. But in this one he needed just 99 pitches, though he walked three batters (with little love from the home-plate umpire).
The no-hitter watch took its crescendo with seven outs to go.
Kyle Seager dove for Kevin Pillar’s scorched grounder down the third-base line. Pillar is fast. Seager was faster.
Seager didn’t even look at first base when he jumped up and flung the ball on a hop toward Ryon Healy. Healy snared it to get Pillar just in time before punching his fist into the air. Paxton was six outs from history.
How about five outs away?
Catcher Russell Martin sent Paxton's 95 mph a long way. Paxton's reaction seemed to say it — maybe that was hit No. 1. But Ben Gamel raced under it near the warning track and jumped with two hands for two outs.
A pitch later, Paxton’s 81-mph knuckle curve was scorched to center field. But the line drive went directly into Dee Gordon’s glove for the second out. Four outs away, Paxton ended the eighth with his sixth strikeout.
Now he's three outs away.
Anthony Alford sent the first pitch he saw for a soft fly out to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Paxton threw three pitches – all fastballs – and got Teoscar Hernandez swinging at a 97 mph fastball for the second out.
One out away.
Josh Donaldson, the former American League MVP, looked at a 100-mph fastball for strike two. Then he sent a grounder to Seager.
He tossed to Healy at first base, who captured it easily and Paxton was soon after drenched in Gatorade and hugs from his teammates.
History.
"It was probably the sixth inning when I realized what was happening," Paxton said. "And then I was just focused on making pitches, getting ahead of guys and getting two-strike counts to try to put them away and staying over the plate. And the guys were hitting balls right at people. It was one of those nights where the balls that were hit hard went right at people, and then we had the defense making amazing plays. Like Kyle's last play. It was ridiculous."
Only five other times had the Mariners thrown a no-hitter, with Paxton joining the ranks of Hisashi Iwakuma (2015), Felix Hernandez (2012, perfect game), Chris Bosio (1993), Randy Johnson (1990), and on June 8, 2012, the Mariners had a combined no-hitter when Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers.
It was the first Mariners no-hitter thrown away from Seattle. There had been 255 no-hitters thrown in the modern era (starting in 1901) and Paxton became just the second American League pitcher since hall of famer Nolan Ryan (1991) to throw a no-hitter and have at least 16 strikeouts in a game in the same season. Ryan did those in the same game.
And of course this came for a Canadian in Canada.
"Oftentimes the no-hitter — you don't say anything in the dugout," Servais said. "For me, in the fourth inning I looked up and realized his pitch count was in such good shape that if he got a few breaks along the way, we might be looking at something special. It certainly was a special night.
"It's one of those experiences you never forget. I caught one (with the Astros in 1993 with Darryl Kile on the mound) and I'll never forget that. Great experience for Zunino to go through that."
Last week Paxton had the best four-seam fastball the Mariners staff said they had ever seen. This time is was his knuckle-curveball carrying him.
It was absolutely the key,” Servais said. “To throw a no-hitter you have to have more than just one pitch. It was the best curveball we’ve seen Paxton have all year.”
The Mariners were cruising and then Mike Zunino stepped on the gas pedal.
He took a 91-mph fastball on the bottom outside corner of the plate. A very good pitch. Except Zunino’s old-man strength sent it over the right-field wall for an opposite-field two-run home run and a Mariners 4-0 lead in the fourth inning.
That’s his fifth homer this season (in 15 games after starting the season on the disabled list) and his second in two games. He also hit the go-ahead two-run shot in the Mariners’ eventual extra-innings win over the Angels on Saturday.
Ben Gamel and Dee Gordon put the Mariners on the scoreboard with runs in the third inning, with Robinson Cano hitting into an RBI groundout before Nelson Cruz’s RBI single.
The Mariners loaded the bases on three consecutive hits in the fifth inning and Mitch Haniger drove in a run on a 111-mph exit velocity line-out to center field, with Cano barreling home just in time to beat the tag.
The Mariners led 5-0.
And, unlike last week, when Paxton threw seven scoreless innings with a career-high 16 strikeouts only for the Mariners' bullpen to allow three runs in a 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics — the Mariners weren't losing this game.
Paxton tied a career-high 10 strikeouts two starts ago, then the 16 K's (Eh's?) last week in seven shutout innings. Now this.
"I think this has put him on the page and level that we know he can be at," Zunino said. "No one deserves it more."
What's clear is an ace — a star — is developing before the Mariners eyes.
So ... what's next?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One celebration on the field. One off of it. <br><br>Savor it, <a href="https://twitter.com/James_Paxton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@James_Paxton</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrueToTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrueToTheBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/xdtu6O4wjC">pic.twitter.com/xdtu6O4wjC</a></p>— Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/994072051966148608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">History. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrueToTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrueToTheBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/axmf2tcR8Y">pic.twitter.com/axmf2tcR8Y</a></p>— Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/994030918351257600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats on HISTORY my brother <a href="https://twitter.com/James_Paxton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@James_Paxton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrueToTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrueToTheBlue</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mariners</a> <a href="https://t.co/VctWMtKhxQ">pic.twitter.com/VctWMtKhxQ</a></p>— Robinson Cano (@RobinsonCano) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobinsonCano/status/994059666190675970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big congrats to Pax! What an unbelievable performance and a pleasure to watch. Couldn’t have written it any better than that! Cheers man. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BigMaple?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BigMaple</a> <a href="https://t.co/kf0l1I5oQb">pic.twitter.com/kf0l1I5oQb</a></p>— Marco Gonzales (@MarcoGonzales_) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcoGonzales_/status/994065540774875136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE. BIG. MAPLE. <a href="https://t.co/FCkBquUs2d">https://t.co/FCkBquUs2d</a></p>— Ryon Healy (@rchealy25) <a href="https://twitter.com/rchealy25/status/994056866488516608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So COOL to be a part of Paxton’s No-No tonight. He’s put tireless work into getting to this point and put it all together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nohitter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nohitter</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BigMaple?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BigMaple</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SeattleMariners?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SeattleMariners</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBigCanuck?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBigCanuck</a></p>— Mel Stottlemyre Jr (@StottsFishing) <a href="https://twitter.com/StottsFishing/status/994043046537977857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/James_Paxton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@James_Paxton</a> <a href="https://t.co/XwOANn16KB">https://t.co/XwOANn16KB</a></p>— Nelson Cruz (@ncboomstick23) <a href="https://twitter.com/ncboomstick23/status/994033317426024448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big Maple w/ the 6th No hitter in Mariners history, what a cool experience. Congratulations to Paxton!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mariners?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mariners</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoMariners?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoMariners</a></p>— Edgar Martinez (@11EdgarMartinez) <a href="https://twitter.com/11EdgarMartinez/status/994032873194885126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Ladner Heron is proud of its hometown boy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoNo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoNo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mariners?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mariners</a> <a href="https://t.co/fgyUOjNKAn">pic.twitter.com/fgyUOjNKAn</a></p>— Chad Dey (@chad_dey) <a href="https://twitter.com/chad_dey/status/994088027990446084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">James Paxton becomes the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in his home country. <a href="https://t.co/zxDDGxT6h4">pic.twitter.com/zxDDGxT6h4</a></p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/994027925090512897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/James_Paxton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@James_Paxton</a>’s in elite company.<br><br>He’s the 1st AL pitcher to pitch a 16-strikeout game and a no-hitter in the same season since Nolan Ryan (recorded both on 5/1/91). <a href="https://t.co/LI7zNyvCd0">pic.twitter.com/LI7zNyvCd0</a></p>— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBStatoftheDay/status/994036798304157696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">James Paxton just showed everybody where he's from after throwing a no hitter. Legendary. <a href="https://t.co/HwResT1lsY">pic.twitter.com/HwResT1lsY</a></p>— Richard Lee-Sam (@RLeesam) <a href="https://twitter.com/RLeesam/status/994027655702896640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Time for more <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BigMaple?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BigMaple</a> following his no-hitter. Here is James Paxton in his press conference after throwing the 6th no-hitter in <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mariners</a> history. <a href="https://t.co/XbVUFEkj0S">pic.twitter.com/XbVUFEkj0S</a></p>— ROOT SPORTS™ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) <a href="https://twitter.com/ROOTSPORTS_NW/status/994237624129765377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 6:28 PM with the headline "O, Canada! Mariners’ James Paxton throws no-hitter in home country."