Matt Garza No Hits Detroit

The Rays finally learned what it’s like on the good side of the no hitter today. Matt Garza faced the minimum tonight against the Detroit Tigers, walking only one batter. Garza added six strikeouts as well, and finished the job in 120 pitches.

To be sure, this Detroit Tigers lineup is not the lineup that was 31 runs above average entering this season. Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, and Brandon Inge were out, replaced by Will Rhymes, Don Kelly, and Ryan Raburn. Ordonez is a well above average hitter, and Guillen and Inge have performed around average this season. Tonight was Rhymes’s third major league game. Raburn has struggled mightily this year but is projected around average. Kelly has also struggled mightily, but his struggles, according to ZiPS, are more indicative of his true talent. This lineup is demonstrably worse, but the presence of players like Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, Brennan Boesch, and Johnny Damon still signify some firepower in the Tigers’ lineup.

That said, no hitting any major league lineup is impressive, and we can’t ignore the fact that the Tigers lineup just might contain the best hitter in the American League. How did Garza do it? His four-seam fastball was utterly dominant. He threw a whopping 96 four-seamers out of his 120 pitches. Sixty-seven of these four-seamers went for strikes and ten of those 67 went for swinging strikes, both of which are fantastic numbers. The Tigers just couldn’t put good wood on the fastball. The pitch type linear weights over at Brooks Baseball have Garza’s flour-seamer at a staggering 6 runs above average tonight. That mark would rank 33rd among all pitchers in baseball over the course of the whole season; Garza’s fastball was 3.5 runs above average entering the game.

Games like tonight are the reason that Tampa Bay was willing to deal a top prospect like Delmon Young for Matt Garza. Garza’s performance immediately goes down as the most memorable performance by a Rays’ pitcher, and this performance on a national stage will make sure that anybody who wasn’t paying attention to the Rays before is paying attention now.





Jack Moore's work can be seen at VICE Sports and anywhere else you're willing to pay him to write. Buy his e-book.

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Roid Cycle Down
13 years ago

How did he do it?

Garza faced a struggling, injury depleted lineup in an era of increased drug testing. That’s how.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, Scherzer had a no-hitter himself before getting jobbed on the interference call and wound up surrending the Grand Slam.

Sure thing bro
13 years ago

God, you sound so butthurt it’s sickening.

Jon
13 years ago

Why does everyone think that increased drug testing only hurts hitters? Pitchers have used roids as well.

Josh
13 years ago
Reply to  Jon

You got burned by this one Roid Cycle Down.

West
13 years ago
Reply to  Jon

A hitter using PEDs to increase bat speed will benefit more from a pitcher using PEDs to increase velo/leg strength and career length. Offense is down because PED use is down. It is only a theory, but it leans more towards scientific fact.

Josh
13 years ago

Looked like the bat hit Laird’s glove, rules are rules bub.

Jimmy
13 years ago

Garza also banged your mother after the game.

Right on the pitchers mound.

CRY MOAR!

Dallas Braden
13 years ago
Reply to  Jimmy

NOT ON MY MOUND HE DIDN’T!!

bonestock94
13 years ago
Reply to  Jimmy

Oh my god, I’m dying over here at Dallas Braden.