Volquez throws no-hitter
Edinson Volquez’s day was nearly over after three pitches. And he strongly considered leaving the game after five innings because of sharp ankle pain.
A couple hours later, nothing was hurting.
He stuck around — and pitched the game of his life.
Volquez threw the sixth nohitter in Marlins history, facing the minimum 27 batters on Saturday and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0. Tied for the major league lead in losses when the game began, he struck out 10, and the two baserunners who reached on walks were erased by double plays.
He needed 98 pitches, the last of those striking out Chris Owings to complete the masterpiece.
“When I passed the seventh, I said, ‘I’m going to go for it,’” Volquez said. “And I got it.”
It’s the first no-hitter in the majors since Jake Arrieta did it for the Cubs on April 21, 2016, at Cincinnati, and the first time Arizona was no-hit since the Marlins’ Anibal Sanchez threw one on Sept. 6, 2006.
Volquez (2-7) was nearly knocked out of the game after just one batter, when he collided with Diamondbacks leadoff man Rey Fuentes as he covered first, rolled his ankle and took a hard fall to the turf.
“I thought I broke my ankle,” he kidded after the game.
Alas, that was the only hit the Diamondbacks got. Luckily for Volquez, body blows don’t show up in the scorebook.
“I have faith in God,” Fuentes said. “And if there was a plan for Volquez, today was his day.”
The 33-year-old righty was one of the pitchers the Marlins brought in this past off-season in part to fill the void caused by the death of ace Jose Fernandez, who died in a boat crash last September.
Fernandez was very much on Volquez’s mind Saturday.
So was Yordano Ventura, the Kansas City pitcher who was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in January. Saturday would have been Ventura’s 26th birthday. He and Volquez were not just countrymen, but close friends.
“It was special for me to dedicate the game to him,” Volquez said.
Volquez’s first season in Miami started about as badly as possible; the Marlins lost eight of his first nine starts and Volquez dropped his first seven decisions.