Photo by: Matt Slocum/Associated Press
With names such as Sandy Koufax, Ramón Martínez, Hideo Nomo, Carl Erskine among others already in the Dodgers record books, MLB books as well for tossing no-hitters and perfect games. L.A. Dodgers current star pitcher Josh Beckett has now joined that elite pitching list. As today, the 34-year-old right-hander tossed his first career no-hitter against the Philadelphia Philles, the first solo no-no from a Dodgers pitcher since Hideo Nomo in 1996.
The Dodgers struck first against Phillies right-hander, A.J. Burnett taking a 2-0 lead after the second inning and continued to add on runs as the game progressed, once in the sixth and three more in the seventh. That seemed to be all that Beckett needed as he coasted his way through seven innings where he retired 23 straight batters from the second inning into the ninth, where the streak ended after walking Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins with two outs.
With two down and Rollins on second after advancing on a defensive indifference, Josh Beckett faced Chase Utley, who is seemingly the hottest player in the Phillies lineup at the moment, but that didn’t matter to Beckett, who was able to strike Utley out looking on a 3-2 fastball to finish his terrific outing, that saw him toss 128 pitches, striking out six and walking three in nine-innings of play.
Beckett’s first career no-no is the first one of the 2014 season, the 283rd in MLB history, the Dodgers 21st all time and the 11th since the franchise moved to Los Angeles.
Watch the final out of the historical outing below.
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