Why James Paxton's no-hitter was no fluke. And why he's officially the Mariners' ace
Since throwing the final pitch of his no-hitter, James Paxton has spent almost every moment celebrating and reliving it.
His Seattle Mariners teammates had “O Canada” playing over the clubhouse speakers when he finally made his way in there Tuesday night. A champagne shower ensued and the normally unflappable Paxton, who never even flinched when encountered by a bald eagle just moments before one of his starts earlier this season, was laughing, yelling and pumping his arms in the air.
Paxton then spent the next few hours on the phone with his wife, Katie, family and friends before grabbing a beer with one of his friends, who happened to be in Toronto.
And Wednesday was all about media appearances, interviews and trying to trudge through the enormity of voicemails, texts and notifications – including a congratulatory tweet from the official account of Canada.
“I got to a number of them last night, but I still have a bunch left,” Paxton said in an interview with 710-ESPN radio. “I want to get back to everybody who was supporting me, though.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to Seattle <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mariners</a> pitcher <a href="https://twitter.com/James_Paxton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@James_Paxton</a> who became the first Canadian since 1945 to throw a no-hitter! By doing so against the Toronto <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueJays</a>, he also became the first Canadian to do it on home turf <a href="https://t.co/ehlFF9ps9j">https://t.co/ehlFF9ps9j</a></p>— Canada (@Canada) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canada/status/994318957191581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He added that you shouldn’t do anything great if you can’t handle the congratulations.
Paxton hasn’t come off as someone too in awe – that maybe he lucked into an unforgettable outing.
But combine this with his 16-strikeout gem last week against the Oakland Athletics and the season he had in 2017 —especailly July – and it's easy to see this is the James Paxton the Mariners have been expecting.
Maybe this is the only no-hitter of his career, but it’s not a reach to think Paxton has plenty of dominating games in his future. That's what happens when his electric stuff (like the 100-mph fastball in Tuesday's ninth inning), good health, extreme confidence and greater control come together.
“I think this has put him on the page and level that we know he can be at,” Mariners catcher Mike Zunino told reporters afterward. “No one deserves it more.”
Said Mariners manager Scott Servais: “I think we always know that every time Paxton takes the mound he has the capability of doing something special.”
And third baseman Kyle Seager: “You talk about a guy – how he gets in here, puts his head down, is an unbelievably tireless worker – I couldn’t be happier for him. You think about his last two outings – just absolutely unbelievable. He goes from striking out 16 in seven innings to his next time he throws a no-hitter. He took it to another level. He was absolutely incredible.”
But the no-hitter was so much different than the 16 strikeouts.
Paxton had the best fastball of his life against the Athletics, pumping it up in the zone and daring hitters to chase it. He threw more four-seam fastballs than in any start since two years ago against the Los Angeles Angels – when Paxton didn’t allow an earned run in 8 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. This past time he didn’t allow a run in seven innings with 16 strikeouts.
Then Tuesday’s start.
This was the most knuckle-curveballs he had thrown since last August because it was working, most notably when he got former American League MVP Josh Donaldson chasing it in the dirt for the third out of the sixth inning.
“Last night he found his curveball for about three or four innings,” Servais said. “And a really good curveball, one we hadn’t seen since probably last year. He had some swing and miss on it and was locating it.”
And the Mariners had said Paxton is more keen and receptive of advanced metrics and scouting reports than any other pitcher. He spent the offseason getting blood tests (he learned cow milk isn’t good for his body, so no more cow milk), and undergoing muscle activation exercises so that all his muscles are firing, which should reduce injury risk.
Now Paxton has thrown one of six no-hitters in Mariners history, is the second Canadian-born pitcher to throw one and is one of two American League pitchers to record 16 strikeouts in a game and throw a no-hitter in the same season, joining Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
Yet, there was Paxton back in the Mariners’ workout room Wednesday morning.
“And he started his program like he always does,” Servais said. “But he had a smile on his face, as he should.
"It was great for him, but he knows we have a lot ahead of us this year, and hopefully there are a lot of other great outings. Maybe not a no-hitter again, but it was fun to enjoy and take it all in last night.”
They've stressed often with Paxton over the years how important it is that he pitch at the top of the strike zone, but don't start there. That means getting his curveball over for early strikes, but unlike Tuesday, he hasn't trusted that pitch enough to pitch it to exact spots.
And because his command has suffered, his pitch count typically had, too. Then he goes out and throws a no-hitter on just 99 pitches. Since 1988 (when complete pitch-count data is available), 99 pitches is tied for the ninth fewest pitches used in a no-hitter.
“You have to get ahead in the count down and then go up – I think understanding when and how to do that is really important and I think that’s the biggest thing we’ve stressed with Pax in the past year and a half,” Servais said. “When I got here I remember we talked about it a lot. I didn’t know Pax much, and you could see from the other side that he was a big guy with a downhill angle that’s tough to hit because he’s deceptive. And then that’s where the analytics come in because he’s so tough up in the zone because of the spin rate and deception and everything he’s got. But understanding how to get there and the process – that’s probably one of the biggest things we’ve shared.”
Paxton was speaking on the radio when they played for him the call on his final pitch, allowing him to relive the final out yet again.
His reaction?
“It’s giving me chills,” Paxton said. “Just unreal. Just a surreal moment.”
It’s clear he’s supplanted Felix Hernandez as the Mariners’ ace. He said one of the calls he received Tuesday night was from Andy Pettite, the former New York Yankees and Houston Astros left-hander, a few years after they connected through Robinson Cano and Pettite said he has followed Paxton’s career since.
“But just give it to the guys,” Paxton said. “The way they contributed to that just made it such a team effort. I can’t say enough about Mike Zunino. He’s the guy I looked to first and I gave him a huge hug because he was doing a fantastic job behind the plate all night.”
He shook off Zunino just once and it was on his final pitch in the bottom of the ninth to Donaldson. But he said it was a fake shake – Zunino called a curveball but shook his head so that Paxton would shake it off, and maybe keep Donaldson guessing a little bit.
But Paxton wasn’t going to pitch anything but a 99-mph fastball.
Then history.
“In the moment it was just so surreal,” Paxton said. “It was almost like I was dreaming. It was pretty crazy.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2018 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Why James Paxton's no-hitter was no fluke. And why he's officially the Mariners' ace."