Paxton strikes out seven and walks three in 99-pitch masterpiece in Toronto CANADA’S PAXTON NO-HITS BLUE JAYS
STEVE BUFFERY
Before an elated James Paxton retreated inside the Seattle Mariners clubhouse on Tuesday night, he stood in front of it and acknowledged the fans at Rogers Centre by pointing to a tattoo on his right forearm.
A tattoo he holds dear to his heart. “It’s a maple leaf and inside is kind of a mural of an island that my family has a cabin on,” Paxton said.
“It’s called Bowyer Island. As I was growing up, we’d go there two weeks in the summer until I started playing baseball every summer and then I didn’t get to go very often. But it’s just a place where it reminds me of family and it’s just kind of a special place for me having not lived in Canada for the past 10 years or so, it just reminds me of home.”
Paxton became an instant Canadian legend on Tuesday night by becoming only the second Canuck to throw a no-hitter in the majors in a 5-0 victory over the Blue Jays.
Toronto-born Dick Fowler was the first to perform the feat, pitching for the Philadelphia A’s against the St. Louis Browns on Sept. 9, 1945.
Paxton, a native of Ladner, B.C., was deadly against the Jays, posting seven strikeouts and giving up three walks. He dominated Toronto hitting, though the Jays did begin to smack the ball hard as the game moved into the late innings.
Perhaps the best play made behind him was by third baseman Kyle Seager in the seventh. Seager dove to his right on a sharply hit ball by Kevin Pillar, making a great play to glove the ball. He then drilled a one-bouncer to Ryon Healy at first for the out.
“There’s always one or two of those plays in a no-hitter and unfortunately, I was at the hitter’s end of one and it’s just how it goes sometimes,” said Pillar. “It was a good play, he’s a gold glover for a reason.”
Seager also made a good play on a Josh Donaldson smash for the final out of the game.
“I threw that pitch as hard as I could, and I saw the ball rocket towards third and I kind of spun around and I saw Seager, looked like he caught it with his stomach, and all of a sudden I see him throwing the ball to first base and I was kind of shocked and I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, I can’t believe this just happened,’” Paxton said.
Paxton recorded a career-high 16 strikeouts and allowed five hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings in his previous start last Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to the Oakland A’s — easily the best consecutive starts of his career.
Of course, recording the no-no in his home country was especially sweet for the 29-year-old, who was selected by the Jays in the first round of the 2009 amateur draft. The Jays couldn’t meet his bonus demands and lost him.
“Just very special. Pretty amazing to have this happen against the Blue Jays, at home in Canada,” said Paxton. “I had some family here tonight, some friends, it was special to share that with them. And also it was on TV in Ladner, B.C. My first start here in Toronto, I don’t know if you guys remember that. I do.
“I went 1.1 innings and gave up nine earned runs, so we’ve come quite a ways from that. I’ve had to battle injuries almost every year in my career so far. It’s been a long road, but I’ve had lots of help along the way and I can’t say enough of those people.”
Paxton said the fans at Rogers Centre were on him midway through the game, advising him he was going to blow it. But by the ninth inning, the jeers had turned to cheers and the big lefty acknowledged their support on the infield.
“That was very special,” he said. “I just wanted to show them that I heard them and I was grateful for their support.”
In the bottom of the ninth, Paxton got Anthony Alford to weakly foul out to right, struck out Teoscar Hernandez on a 97-m.p.h. fourseam fastball and enticed Donaldson to ground out to third.
After recording the final out, he was mobbed on the mound by his teammates. Members of the Mariners’ front office and staff came on to the field to give the big Canadian a hug. Marcus Stroman stumbled again on Tuesday, lasting only five innings in picking up the loss and running his record to 0-5 with a 7.71 ERA.