Saturday, June 26, 1999
Cardinals' rookie no-hits Diamondbacks
BY BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jose Jimenez pitched a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
(AP photo)
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PHOENIX — Take a look at all National League pitchers and pick the least likely to throw a no-hitter. Jose Jimenez would be a serious contender.
Yet on Friday night, facing the best hitting team in the league, the 25-year-old rookie outdueled Randy Johnson and threw the first St. Louis no-hitter in 16 years.
Jimenez (4-7), who entered the game with a 6.69 ERA, struck out eight, walked two and hit a batter in the Cardinals' 1-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. No Arizona runner got beyond second base against the right-hander from the Dominican Republic, who mystified Arizona batters with his curves and changeups.
“It's unbelievable,” said Jimenez, who threw a no-hitter in the minors last season. “I can't explain it. I just want to fly tonight.”
Jimenez had to be nearly perfect because Johnson also was dominant and the game was scoreless until Thomas Howard hit an RBI single with two outs in the top of the ninth.
“I never imagined a no-hitter,” said Jimenez, who was 1-7 with an 8.04 ERA in his previous 11 starts. “But every time I go, I try my hardest to be a pitcher, not a thrower.”
It was the first no-hitter by an NL rookie since 1972, when Burt Hooten of the Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 4-0. Jimenez is the first Cardinals rookie to throw a no-hitter since Paul Dean, Dizzy's brother, beat Brooklyn 3-0 in 1934.
Right fielder Eric Davis saved the no-hitter with two diving catches, including a one-out grab in the ninth of a sinking liner by pinch-hitter David Dellucci. Davis aggravated his sore left shoulder making the first catch, but that didn't stop him from making an even better one the second time.
“I couldn't think about my shoulder,” Davis said. “It's a no-hitter. You've got to go get the ball.”
Jimenez then got Tony Womack on a slow roller to second, and was mobbed by his teammates, with Mark McGwire leading the charge.
“If that doesn't thrill you, then you should be doing something else for a living,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. “He really had tremendous movement on his pitches. He has Kevin Brown-type movement.”
La Russa gave much of the credit to catcher Alberto Castillo.
“He called a no-hit game. He mixed up the pitches all night,” La Russa said.
Castillo said no one told him what to do.
“Since I started playing, no manager, no coach calls my pitches,” said Castillo, who received an appreciative pat on the chest from Jimenez during a postgame interview. “I called the game.”
Jimenez is the first rookie to pitch a no-hitter since Wilson Alvarez of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 11, 1991. He is the first St. Louis pitcher to do it since Bob Forsch on Sept. 26, 1983.
Johnson (9-4) struck out 14 to reach 2,500 for his career and gave up only five hits. But it wasn't good enough to beat Jimenez.
“His pitchers were moving all over the place, he was in control and they had great defense for him,” said Johnson, who has one no-hitter in his stellar career. “After I'd given up the run, I wanted to watch him.”
Arizona manager Buck Showalter said he wasn't surprised by Jimenez's performance.
“He's been one of their best prospects,” Showalter said. “Watching him pitch, you can understand why they think so much of him.”
After walking Darren Bragg and Mark McGwire with one out in the ninth, Johnson struck out Davis. But Howard followed with an RBI single to left for the game's only run. McGwire was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.
With one out in the ninth, Dellucci hit a sinking liner to right. Davis came in and made a diving, backhand catch. After Davis rolled over and stood up, the ball fell out of his glove, but second-base umpire Mark Wegner ruled Davis had control of the ball long enough for the out. Arizona manager Buck Showalter argued briefly.
Last Aug. 27, Jimenez threw a no-hitter for Double-A Arkansas against Shreveport. But his first season in the majors had been a big struggle.
Entering the game, Jimenez had given up 60 earned runs, tied for most in the NL. And the Cardinals had lost 10 of the last 11 games he had started, including a 17-1 pounding by the San Francisco Giants on May 25.
But the Diamondbacks, who lead the NL in batting average, runs scored, hits and home runs, couldn't touch Jimenez, who became the fifth NL rookie and 15th overall to pitch a no-hitter.
Two big defensive plays kept Arizona hitless in the sixth, a diving catch by Davis on Andy Fox's fly to right and a shoestring grab by Bragg on Johnson's line drive to center.
The first three hits given up by Johnson were doubles, but none of the runners could score and only one got to third base.
Johnson pitched a perfect first three innings, striking out five in a row at one point. But Joe McEwing led off the fourth with a double down the right-field line for the first hit of the night to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.
With one out and McEwing on third, Johnson got McGwire on a called third strike, then Eric Davis grounded out to first to end the threat.
Notes: Johnson struck out at least 10 for the 10th time this year and 112th time of his career. ... With an NL-leading 171 strikeouts this season, Johnson already has broken the club record of 164 set by Andy Benes last year. ... McEwing's hitting streak ties the fourth-longest for the Cardinals in the 1990s. ... Fox was hit by a pitch for the second consecutive night and sixth time this season.
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