The no-hits just keep coming. On Tuesday night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull tossed the fifth no-hitter of the 2021 season en route to a 5-0 victory.
Turnbull, 28, became the first Tigers pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Justin Verlander did it 10 years ago this month against the Toronto Blue Jays.
As for the Mariners, the no-hitter was not such a rare event. They were on the wrong end of a no-hitter only 13 days earlier by John Means of the Baltimore Orioles. Both no-hitters took place in Safeco Field. Indeed, four of the five no-hitters thrown in 2021 have been on the road. At least, the Mariners have company. The Cleveland Indians have also been no-hit twice in 2021 first by Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon on April 14th and then by Cincinnati Reds starter Wade Miley on May 7th. The only other team to be victimized by a no-hitter was the Texas Rangers when Joe Musgrove threw the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history on April 9th. Of course, if not for the baseball gods, Madison Bumgarner of the Arizona Diamondbacks would have been in the mix but he was restricted to 7 innings due to MLB's new doubleheader rule.
As for Turnbull, it was only his 10th career victory. Turnbull, a 2nd round draft pick of the Tigers in 2014, reached the majors in 2018 and would lead the AL in losses in 2019 with 17. At the end of spring training this season, Turnbull tested positive for COVID-19 and had symptoms which kept him out of action for a month. Under any circumstances, this would have been a triumphant night but surviving COVID undoubtedly made this achievement considerably sweeter.
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