MADBUM THROWS UNOFFICIAL NO-NO
Madison Bumgarner definitely had no-hit stuff, even if the Major League Baseball record book said he didn’t.
Bumgarner threw a seveninning no-hitter, an achievement that won’t officially count but completed a dominant day of Arizona Diamondbacks pitching for a 7-0 win over the Atlanta Braves and a doubleheader sweep Sunday.
Could he have kept the magic going for a nine-inning game?
“I don’t know. There’s too many variables,” Bumgarner said. “If it worked for seven, it’s hard to imagine it not working for two more.”
After Zac Gallen tossed a one-hitter to win the opener 5-0, Bumgarner did even better.
Bumgarner struck out seven and the only Braves batter who reached base against him came on shortstop Nick Ahmed’s throwing error in the second inning.
Bumgarner casually shook hands with catcher
Carson Kelly after Marcell Ozuna lined out to end it. Then the rest of the Diamondbacks joined in and the celebration livened up around the mound.
“I like to keep it pretty lowkey,” the stoic lefty said. “They definitely didn’t, which that’s fine and I appreciate that, too.
It’s pretty special for all of us and like I said, I’m just blessed and fortunate to be able to do that and be a part of this.”
Bumgarner’s gem won’t go into the official list of no-hitters. MLB’s eight-man committee on statistical accuracy decided in 1991 that a no-hitter was a game of nine or more innings that ended with no hits.
Other pitchers had come close since Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB switched to seven-inning doubleheaders last year during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It feels good. I just want to say two things before I go celebrate with the guys,” Bumgarner said on a TV interview after the game. “I want to thank these shadows in Atlanta. They helped me out a good bit. That was awesome. And I want to thank Rob Manfred for making these seven-inning games.”
A’s streak ends
The longest winning streak in the majors came to an end Sunday at the hands of the slumping Orioles, who with an 8-1 win over the Oakland Athletics ended the visitors’ run of 13 straight victories.
Before Oakland strung together such a run, the last team in the majors to win that many games in a row was the Houston Astros, who won 12 straight games from June 618, 2018.
Even though the Athletics leave Camden Yards with a series win and the best record in the American League at 14-8, manager Bob Melvin acknowledged that they wanted the streak to live on.
“I mean, you do want to win series but you also want to get greedy — and we’ve been greedy here recently.”
Notable
The Milwaukee Brewers are moving along with their plan for Christian Yelich after an MRI on the slugger’s strained lower back showed no major issues.
Yelich hasn’t played since April 11. He was eligible to come off the injured list this weekend, but the 2018 NL MVP was sent back to Milwaukee because manager Craig Counsell said the outfielder had hit a “plateau” in his recovery.
• Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera has had his three-game suspension for throwing at Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff reduced to two games.