Canadian no-how: Paxton no-hits Blue Jays
TORONTO — When James Paxton saw all-star Josh Donaldson stepping up to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning of his no-hit bid, he knew he had to stay aggressive.
That’s when Big Maple lived up to his nickname.
Paxton, a six-foot-four left-hander from Ladner, got two quick strikes before reeling back for a 99-mile-per-hour fastball.
“I mean, Josh Donaldson, the guy’s pretty good,” Paxton said Tuesday night after the Seattle Mariners’ 5-0 victory. “I was like: ‘I better bring my best stuff for him, I’m going to rear back and throw it as hard as I can . ... I’m going to let it rip top of the zone and see what happens.’ ”
Donaldson hit the ball hard to third baseman Kyle Seager, who collected it and fired to first for the final out. No-hitter complete. “I saw the ball rocket to third and I kinda spun around and saw Seager, it looked like he caught it with his stomach,” Paxton said with a laugh. “All of a sudden I see him throwing the ball to first base and I was just kinda shocked like I can’t believe that just happened.”
Paxton (2-1) struck out seven and walked three batters in a 99-pitch masterpiece, getting a rousing ovation from the 20,513 at Rogers Centre.
When it was over, Paxton acknowledged the crowd.
“I really appreciate their cheers after the game, supporting me being Canadian,” he said. “That was very special and I just wanted to show them that I heard them and I was very grateful for their support.”
Paxton is the first Canadian in 73 years to throw a no-hitter. Toronto-born Dick Fowler threw one for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1945 in his first start in three years after serving for the Canadian Army in the Second World War.
Paxton hadn’t heard of Fowler until Tuesday night but said he was honoured to add his name to Canadian history.
Mariners history, too. It was the sixth no-hitter for the franchise and fifth by an individual pitcher.
“By far the coolest moment of my baseball career,” catcher Mike Zunino said. “Really cool that it happened with somebody that I’ve gone so long through this organization with.”
Paxton was coming off a Canadian record-setting 16-strikeout performance in his last start, a no-decision against Oakland.
He cruised through most of the game, with two walks in the third inning his only real blemish.
Paxton received some defensive help to keep his no-hit bid intact in the seventh inning when Seager dove for a sharply hit ball from Kevin Pillar before snapping back up to his feet and making the throw to first for the final out of the frame.
Left-fielder Ben Gamel helped out by catching a deep fly ball at the warning track for the first out of the eighth. Centre-fielder Dee Gordon got the second out, a sharply hit line drive to centre.
Paxton said he realized he had a no-hitter going in the sixth inning, but didn’t think much about it.
“I was just trying to get ahead of guys and stick with my game plan and probably in the eighth inning it started to become a little more real,” Paxton said. “Six outs away, the eighth inning we had those balls hit really hard right at people, it kinda made me laugh on the mound and I was like, ‘man this is just insane.’ ”
Zunino homered for the Mariners (20-14) and Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Mitch Haniger also drove in runs.
Marcus Stroman (0-5) allowed five runs and nine hits over five innings. He also walked two and struck out a pair as Toronto dropped to 19-17 on the season.