As you've no doubt heard from your friends, the internet, and this very StoryStream, Twins starter Francisco Liriano threw a no-hitter on Tuesday night. It was an ugly no-hitter, but a no-hitter nonetheless, as he blanked the White Sox over nine innings despite six walks and a paltry two strikeouts.
Francisco Liriano Throws No-Hitter Opposite Edwin Jackson
But Francisco Liriano didn't only throw an ugly no-hitter; no, he threw an ugly no-hitter opposite White Sox starter Edwin Jackson, the author of baseball's most recent ugly no-hitter before this one. Trivia!
Pitching for the Diamondbacks against the Rays on June 25, 2010, Jackson kept Tampa Bay hitless, but he did so while walking eight batters and throwing an unthinkable 149 pitches, of which just 79 (53%) were strikes. Jackson's eight walks tied for the third-highest total in a no-hitter in baseball history.
One wonders which was uglier - Liriano’s no-hitter on Tuesday, or Jackson’s no-hitter last June. While Jackson needed more pitches and walked more batters, he faced a tougher lineup, and he did rack up six strikeouts. Liriano was just coasting by on a lot of contact in between free passes and bad counts.
Jackson was on his best behavior opposite Liriano on Tuesday, walking just one batter over eight innings. Of course, he also took the loss. Score one for effective wildness.
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