Canadian pitcher James Paxton threw a no-hitter for the Seattle Mariners against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in a 5-0 win at the Rogers Centre.
The 29-year-old lefty from Ladner, B.C., became the first Canadian to achieve the feat since Dick Fowler of Toronto pitched a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Athletics on Sept. 9, 1945. The six foot four Paxton is also the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in his home country and the first pitcher to throw one against the Blue Jays since Justin Verlander's no-hit performance with the Detroit Tigers on May 7, 2011.
Coming off a career-high 16 strikeouts in his last start, Paxton (2-1) was electric once again, hitting 100 mph with his fastball while retiring Josh Donaldson on a grounder with his 99th pitch to end it.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/James_Paxton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@James_Paxton</a>’s last three pitches:<br>98 mph<br>100 mph<br>99 mph<br><br>THAT’S how you finish a no-no. <a href="https://t.co/BWdmtS863U">pic.twitter.com/BWdmtS863U</a>
—@MLB
It was the third no-hitter of the 2018 MLB season; Oakland A's pitcher Sean Manaea no-hit the Boston Red Sox on April 21, while four Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers — Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore — combined to no-hit the San Diego Padres on May 4 in Mexico City.
Paxton struck out seven, walked three and benefited from an outstanding play by third baseman Kyle Seager. With two outs in the seventh, Seager made a full-length diving stop on speedy Kevin Pillar's grounder down the line, then slung an off-balance throw that first baseman Ryon Healy snagged on one hop.
