No-hitter new painkiller for Volquez
MARLINS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 0
miami» 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.
Volquez stuck around — and pitched the game of his life.
Volquez threw the sixth no-hitter in Marlins history, facing the minimum 27 batters Saturday while beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0 at Marlins Park. 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.
Volquez 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.”
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 base, rolled his ankle and made a hard fall.
“I thought I broke my ankle,” Volquez kidded after the game.
The 33-year-old right-hander was one of the pitchers the Marlins brought in during the offseason in part to fill the void caused by the death of ace Jose Fernandez, who died in a boat crash last fall.
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.