ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nolan Ryan, the oldest man in baseball and one of sports' all-time marvels, threw the seventh no-hitter of his career Wednesday night in overpowering the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0.
Ryan, 44, struck out 16 Blue Jays and walked two, registering a no- hitter 18 years after he threw his first one. Wednesday night's effort was masterful in that the Blue Jays seldom made solid contact.
The closest they came to a hit came in the sixth inning when Manuel Lee, batting ninth in the order, hit a bloop to shallow center field. Center fielder Gary Pettis, getting an excellent jump on the ball, made a knee-high catch on the run to the thunderous ovation from the crowd of 33,439 at Arlington Stadium.
As Ryan, 3-2, came out for the eighth inning the crowd rose to its feet and reacted to almost every pitch. When Mark Whiten hit a line drive to right field to start the eighth, the crowd fell silent for an instant. But the ball sailed directly toward Sierra, who had to move only a few steps to catch it.
With the entire crowd on its feet again in the ninth inning, Ryan quickly retired Lee and Devon White on groundouts to second. He rang up two quick strikes to Roberto Alomar and, after running the count to 2-2, got him to swing at one of his trademark fastballs.
After Alomar went down swinging, Ryan pumped his fist and was mobbed by teammates, who hoisted him on their shoulders as the crowd changed 'No-lan! No-lan!'
In pitching the season's first no-hitter, Ryan threw 83 of his 122 pitches for strikes -- a magnificent 68 percent ratio.
By no-hitting the Blue Jays, Ryan did what he has done so often throughout his astonishing career -- he rose to a challenge.
His pitching opponent Wednesday evening, Jimmy Key, came into the game with a 4-0 record and a 1.86 ERA while Ryan had suffered through a series of less-than-impressive outings.
The Rangers, however, struck for three runs in the third against Key, giving Ryan center stage.
Pettis singled to lead off the third and moved to second on a base hit by Rafael Palmiero. Pettis then stole third and scored when catcher Greg Myers threw wildly, allowing Palmiero to go to second.
Ruben Sierra followed with his fifth homer of the season and third in two nights, a blast that was lost in Ryan's heroics.
It was evident early in the evening that Ryan had a chance for more history. After walking Kelly Gruber with one out in the first, Ryan retired Joe Carter on an infield popout.
He then struck out the side in the second and fanned two more in the third and fourth innings.
Not until Gruber lifted a routine fly ball to left field in the fourth did the Blue Jays manage to hit a ball out of the infield.
Ryan's seventh no-hitter simply was the latest milestone in a career that has spanned 24 seasons and defied baseball's laws of longevity. Consider that the player with most no-hitters behind Ryan is Sandy Koufax with four.
Since coming to the Rangers in 1988, Ryan has thrown two no-hitters, reached the 5,000-strikeout plateau and become the 20th pitcher to win 300 games.
His first four no-hitters came while he was a member of the California Angels, with the first coming in Kansas City on May 15, 1973. The next one came in Detroit two months later. Ryan no-hit Minnesota in 1974 and Baltimore in 1975 -- both coming at Anaheim Stadium.
After being traded to the Houston Astros, Ryan set the major-league record with his fifth no-hitter in 1981 in the Astrodome against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His most recent no-hitter came last June 11 in Oakland, when he became the oldest pitcher to throw one.
Ryan's no-hit record is one of 48 major-league, American League and National League records he owns or shares. His 16 strikeouts Wednesday night improved his all-time record to 5,361.
Also among the most imposing records Ryan has set is the one involving at least 10 strikeouts a game. Wednesday night marked the 209th time Ryan has fanned at least 10 in a game. Koufax is second on that list with 98.
x x x stadium.
As Ryan came out for the eighth inning the crowd rose to its feet and reacted to almost every pitch. When Mark Whiten hit a line drive to right field to start the eighth, the crowd fell silent for an instant. But the ball sailed directly toward Sierra, who had to move only a few steps to catch it.
With the entire crowd on its feet again in the ninth inning, Ryan quickly retired Lee and Devon White on groundouts to second. He rang up two quick strikes to Roberto Alomar and, after running the count to 2-2, got him to swing at one of his trademark fastballs.
After Alomar went down swinging, Ryan pumped his fist and was mobbed by teammates, who hoisted him on their shoulders as the crowd changed 'No-lan! No-lan!'
In pitching the season's first no-hitter, Ryan threw 83 of his 122 pitches for strikes -- a magnificent 68 percent ratio.NEWLN: more
x x x ratio.
By no-hitting the Blue Jays, Ryan, 3-2, did what he has done so often throughout his astonishing career -- he rose to a challenge.
His pitching opponent Wednesday evening, Jimmy Key, came into the game with a 4-0 record and a 1.86 ERA while Ryan had suffered through a series of less-than-impressive outings.
The Rangers, however, struck for three runs in the third against Key, giving Ryan center stage.
Pettis singled to lead off the third and moved to second on a base hit by Rafael Palmiero. Pettis then stole third and scored when catcher Greg Myers threw wildly, allowing Palmiero to go to second.
Ruben Sierra followed with his fifth homer of the season and third in two nights, a blast that was lost in Ryan's heroics.
It was evident early in the evening that Ryan had a chance for more history. After walking Kelly Gruber with one out in the first, Ryan retired Joe Carter on an infield popout.
He then struck out the side in the second and fanned two more in the third and fourth innings.
Not until Gruber lifted a routine fly ball to left field in the fourth did the Blue Jays manage to hit a ball out of the infield.NEWLN: more
x x x infield.
Ryan's seventh no-hitter simply was the latest milestone in a career that has spanned 24 seasons and defied baseball's laws of longevity. Consider that the player with most no-hitters behind Ryan is Sandy Koufax with four.
Since coming to the Rangers in 1988, Ryan has thrown two no-hitters, reached the 5,000-strikeout plateau and become the 20th pitcher to win 300 games.
His first four no-hitters came while he was a member of the California Angels, with the first coming in Kansas City on May 15, 1973. The next one came in Detroit two months later. Ryan no-hit Minnesota in 1974 and Baltimore in 1975 -- both coming at Anaheim Stadium.
After being traded to the Houston Astros, Ryan set the major-league record with his fifth no-hitter in 1981 in the Astrodome against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His most recent no-hitter came last June 11 in Oakland, when he became the oldest pitcher to throw one.
Ryan's no-hit record is one of 48 major-league, American League and National League records he owns or shares. His 16 strikeouts Wednesday night improved his all-time record to 5,361.
Also among the most imposing records Ryan has set is the one involving at least 10 strikeouts a game. Wednesday night marked the 209th time Ryan has fanned at least 10 in a game. Koufax is second on that list with 98.
