Verlander loses no-hit bid in ninth by inches

Justin Verlander nearly threw his third career no-hitter on Wednesday. (USATSI)

Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander nearly completed the third no-hitter of his career on Wednesday evening. He took the bid into the ninth inning, allowing a double down the line to Angels catcher Chris Iannetta.

In fact, it wasn’t just down the line. It was on the line. Literally. The ball kicked up chalk as it bounced on the left-field line. It wasn’t “cheap,” however, as Iannetta laced it. This was just another example of how baseball is a proverbial game of inches.

Here’s the heartbreaking shot:

Had Verlander recorded the no-hitter Wednesday night, he would have joined rather exclusive territory. Here’s a list of the players with more than two career no-hitters:

Nolan Ryan, 7
Sandy Koufax, 4
Bob Feller, 3
Cy Young, 3
Larry Corcoran, 3

Boy, that would’ve been quite the story.

Still, Verlander ends with a one-hit shutout. It was his first shutout since 2012, when he also threw a one-hitter (May 18). So he has two career no-hitters and two career one-hit shutouts. In this outing, Verlander struck out nine while walking two, and he looked every bit the dominant pitcher we got used to seeing throughout his prime, notably 2011-12.

As for the no-hitters this year, it’s been weird. Despite us having not seen any until the second week of June, the 2015 MLB season has given us five no-hitters. Chris Heston of the Giants did so on June 9, with Max Scherzer throwing one on June 20. Cole Hamels followed on July 25. Hisashi Iwakuma (the 12th) and Mike Fiers (the 21st) threw their no-hitters in August.

The Tigers have thrown seven no-hitters in franchise history by five different pitchers. We know Verlander has two while Virgil Trucks also threw two. George Mullin, Jim Bunning and Jack Morris were responsible for the other three.

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