Tyler Gilbert captured the imagination of baseball fans everywhere with his stunning performance on Saturday night, throwing a no-hitter in his first career start in the majors to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.
The 27-year-old, who was just making his fourth career appearance in the majors, became the fourth pitcher to toss a no-hitter in his opening start. Gilbert joins Theodore Breitenstein (1891), Bumpus Jones (1892), and Bob Holloman (1953) in that very exclusive list.
Gilbert's long journey to the majors
It has been a remarkable journey for Gilbert, who the D-Backs acquired as a minor-league Rule 5 Draft pick from the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. The left-hander made the most of his new opportunity with the Diamondbacks organization, posting a 3.44 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 19 walks in 52 ⅓ Triple-A innings this year.
What makes Gilbert's feat so incredible is that he hadn't completed more than six innings or thrown at least 94 pitches in the minors this season. When Arizona called him up to the majors on August 3, Gilbert was assigned to the bullpen, completing two innings or fewer in three prior stints while pitching in relief.
There he was, though, against the vaunted Padres lineup, confounding them with his two main pitches - a low-80s cutter and an upper-80s fastball. Gilbert threw 88 pitches by the end of the seventh inning and needed just three to record a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
That helped manager Torey Lovullo, who was concerned with Gilbert's pitch count in his first career start. Initially, he wanted to limit Gilbert to 85 pitches but decided to stretch his outing to a minimum of 105 pitches with the historic feat within reach.
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Gilbert sends Arizona fans into a frenzy with final out
Gilbert came out of the ninth inning with guns blazing, striking out Trent Grisham and pinch hitter Ha-Seong Kim. He then got Tommy Pham, who had previously drawn three walks against him, to line out directly into Arizona center fielder Ketel Marte's glove to record the third no-hitter in Diamondbacks franchise history.
Randy Johnson famously threw a perfect game for Arizona against the Atlanta Braves in 2004, and Edwin Jackson hurled a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010. Gilbert's no-no, however, is the first of the three to happen in front of the D-Backs' home fans.
This season, Gilbert's feat was the eighth no-hitter in the majors, setting a new record for most no-hitters thrown in a single season. The last no-hitter in the majors in 2021 came via a combined effort by the Chicago Cubs on June 24. Before that, Joe Musgrove (April 9), Carlos Rodón (April 14), John Means (May 5), Wade Miley (May 7), Spencer Turnbull (May 18), and Corey Kluber (May 19) had each thrown a no-no this season.
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