July 13, 2009

Written by: Staff Writer for MLB.Com, Contributed by Jeff Blair Ohio Dominican SID

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Former Ohio Dominican University pitcher Jonathan Sanchez was nearly perfect on Friday (July 10) as he tossed the first major league no-hitter of the season just five days before the all-star break to beat the San Diego Padres, 8-0.  Sanchez, who tossed a school record four no-hitters in his career with the Panthers, now etches his name in the Giants record books as he stunned the baseball world with the first no-hitter in nearly 33-years for San Francisco.

In his first start since a brief demotion to the bullpen, Sanchez lasted just long enough to make history as the southpaw struck out 11 while allowing just one San Diego baserunner to reach base on an error in the eighth.

Jonathan Sanchez approached his outing Friday night realistically. After all, he had emerged from a demotion to the bullpen to make his first start since June 22. 

Only a one-out fielding error in the eighth inning by third baseman Juan Uribe separated Sanchez from a perfect game. "It's [part of] the game," Sanchez said. "It can happen."

Coincidentally, left-hander Randy Johnson, who threw the last perfect game in the Major Leagues on May 18, 2004, was on hand in the Giants' dugout. And it was Johnson's strained throwing shoulder, which forced him onto the disabled list, that prompted the Giants to return Sanchez to the starting rotation.

"He was locked in today," Johnson said of Sanchez. "It was a lot of fun to watch."

For Sanchez's backers -- including his father, Sigfredo, who was visiting from Lajas, Puerto Rico -- it became nerve-racking with one out in the ninth inning as center fielder Aaron Rowand saved Sanchez's gem with a leaping catch at the wall of Edgar Gonzalez's drive. It was Rowand's first game since Wednesday, when he ran into the left-center-field barrier after making a spectacular running catch to rob Florida's Wes Helms.

"It was close to going over," Rowand said. "I haven't seen the replay. It had to be at the top of the fence."

With the paid crowd of 30,298 at AT&T Park standing and roaring, Sanchez ended the two-hour, 22-minute classic by retiring Everth Cabrera on a called third strike -- a 2-2 curveball, giving Sanchez a career-high 11 strikeouts. Cabrera plainly disagreed with umpire Brian Runge, but it didn't matter.

Meanwhile, Sanchez and catcher Eli Whiteside locked each other in a bear hug as the rest of the Giants sped toward them as if magnetized and celebrated together in a happy scrum. The 6-foot-10 Johnson was especially noticeable as he loped toward the group, last but not least.

Sanchez insisted that he didn't dwell on the possibility of throwing a no-hitter until he prepared to fling that final strike. "I was just pitching," he said.