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Thursday April
5 4:13 AM ET
Nomo Gets No-Hitter
By DAVID GINSBURG, AP Sports Writer
BALTIMORE (AP) - First, Hideo Nomo
<http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5/5375/>
conquered Coors Field. Then he
gave a command performance at the bandbox called Camden Yards.
Nomo became the fourth player in major league history to throw a no-hitter
in both leagues, using his trademark hesitation delivery and a crafty mix of
pitches to lift the Boston Red Sox past the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 Wednesday
night.
Nomo's first no-hitter, in September 1996 as a member of the Los Angeles
Dodgers, is the only one ever pitched at Colorado's high-altitude Coors
Field. Now, he's the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter at 10-year-old Camden
Yards.
``Tonight was better,'' he said, recalling that there was a two-hour rain
delay in his initial no-hitter.
This game was delayed at the start for 43 minutes because of a power outage,
but once the lights came on, it was lights out for the Orioles.
``He mixed his pitches well,'' said Baltimore's Jerry Hairston, who struck
out three times. ``I've been in the major leagues for parts of four seasons,
and that's the best split-finger fastball I've ever seen. He was throwing
88-89 (mph), but with the splitter it seemed like 95 with some movement.''
Nomo walked three and struck out 11. Cal Ripken, who reached in the second
inning on an error by third baseman Shea Hillenbrand and moved up on a wild
pitch, was the only Orioles player to get to second base.
In his initial game with Boston, Nomo became the first Boston pitcher to
throw a no-hitter since Dave Morehead beat Cleveland in 1965 - three years
before Nomo was born in Osaka, Japan.
``I felt pretty good throughout the game,'' said Nomo, signed as a free
agent in December. ``As I was going into the ninth inning, I was not
nervous.''
That was apparent in the Boston dugout, where Red Sox pitching coach Joe
Kerrigan marveled at just how calm the right-hander appeared as he toed the
pitching rubber with three outs to go.
``You could see on his face that he was very focused. Nothing bothered
him,'' Kerrigan said. ``It was one of those situations where a bomb could go
off on the side of the mound and he'd still be looking for a sign. He had
great intensity.''
There was no reason to be jittery. At that point, Nomo had already proved
that his horrid spring (0-3, 11.37 ERA) was just an illusion.
Second baseman Mike Lansing saved the no-hitter with a backhanded, tumbling
catch of Mike Bordick's soft looper to center field for the second out in
the ninth.
Lansing, who entered the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth, knew exactly
how important it was to catch up to the rapidly falling baseball.
``You know what's going on. As soon as I saw it, I put my head down,''
Lansing said. ``I knew I had to go all out and get there. ... He had worked
so hard to get that far. I didn't want him to lose it at that point.''
Two pitches later, Delino DeShields lofted a routine fly to left field that
Troy O'Leary caught for the final out. Nomo was lifted by catcher Jason
Varitek and mobbed by his new teammates as O'Leary ran in to give the
pitcher the ball.
Nomo, 32, needed 110 pitches to dispatch the Orioles, who last were no-hit
in 1991 by Chicago's Wilson Alvarez in Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium.
It was the earliest no-hitter in baseball history, coming three days earlier
than Houston's Ken Forsch in 1979 and Detroit's Jack Morris in 1984.
The Orioles didn't get anything close to a hit until Lansing's catch in the
ninth. Before that, the hardest-hit ball was a drive to the warning track in
center by Melvin Mora in the second inning, but Carl Everett had more than
enough room to make the play.
As the game wore on, many in the crowd of 35,602 abandoned the home team and
cheered each out.
``People in the U.S. like good baseball, whether you're on the home team or
not,'' Nomo said through an interpreter.
Nomo joined Cy Young, Jim Bunning and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers with
no-hitters in both leagues.
Nomo won the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year for the Dodgers, exciting all of
baseball with Nomo-mania. In 1997, Nomo became the fastest pitcher in major
league history to reach 500 career strikeouts, doing it in 444 2-3 innings.
But he struggled the past three seasons, going 26-32 for the Dodgers, Mets,
Milwaukee and Detroit. He entered the season 69-61 with a 3.97 ERA.
Brian Daubach took care of the offense for Nomo, hitting two home runs off
loser Sidney Ponson. The first homer, in the third inning, followed an error
by Ripken. He added a solo shot in the eighth.
Ponson pitched well enough to win - on most nights. He allowed three runs
and four hits in 7 1-3 innings, walking one and striking out 10.
``I threw a good game, but the other guy throws a no-hitter,'' Ponson said.
``What are you going to do?'' Notes: Ponson's 10 strikeouts were one short
of his career high. ... Manny Ramirez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in
his second game with Boston. ... Ripken, dropped to seventh in the batting
order, went 0-for-3 and is 0-for-7 this season.
story
Red Sox' Starting Pitcher Hideo
Nomo (11) is Cheered...
Thu, Apr 12 08:17 AM
Boston Red Sox' starting pitcher Hideo Nomo (11) is cheered by the crowd as he
walks to the dugout after pitching against the Baltimore Orioles in the second
inning at Boston's Fenway Park, Tuesday, April 10, 2001. Nomo pitched the Red
Sox first no-hitter since 1965 on April 4, 2001 against the Orioles in Baltimore
. The Red Sox beat the Orioles 10-1 Tuesday. Photo by Steven Senne (AP)
Boston Red Sox Pitcher Hideo Nomo
is Congratulated by...
Thu, Apr 12 08:18 AM
Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo is congratulated by catcher Jason Varitek,
right, and Brian Daubach following his 3-0 no-hit win over the Baltimore Orioles
at Camden Yards in Baltimore Wednesday, April 4, 2001. Photo by Roberto Borea
(AP)
 |
story
Red Sox Pitcher
Hideo Nomo Carries off the Pitcher's...
Wed, Apr 11 04:24 PM
Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo carries off the pitcher's rubber from
the mound at Baltimore's Camden Yards prior to a game against the
Orioles at Fenway Park in Boston, Wednesday April 11, 2001. Nomo was
given the rubber as a gift in honor of his no-hit game he threw on April
4th in Baltimore. Photo by Charles Krupa (AP) |
story
Red Sox Pitcher Hideo Nomo Lifts
the Pitcher's...
Wed, Apr 11 04:19 PM
Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo lifts the pitcher's rubber from the mound at
Baltimore's Camden Yards prior to a game against the Orioles at Fenway Park in
Boston, Wednesday April 11, 2001. Nomo was given the rubber as a gift in honor
of his no-hit game he threw on April 4th in Baltimore. At right applauding is
Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette. Photo by Charles Krupa (AP)
2002: INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR - With
last month's additions of pitcher Hideo Nomo and outfielder Dave Roberts,
both born in Japan, the Dodgers currently have 18 foreign-born players,
representing eight different countries, on their 40-man roster. Other foreign
countries represented are Australia (pitcher Jeff Williams), Canada (pitchers
Eric Gagne and Paul Quantrill), Dominican Republic (third baseman Adrian Beltre,
catcher Jose Diaz, pitcher Danny Mota, infielder Jorge Nunez and pitcher Ricardo
Rodriguez), Mexico (pitchers Victor Alvarez and Carlos Garcia), Puerto Rico
(infielder Hiram Bocachica and shortstop Alex Cora), Taiwan (outfielder Chin-Feng
Chen) and Venezuela (pitchers Giovanni Carrara and Omar Daal and infielder Cesar
Izturis). Dodger
Public Relations
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