First no hitter of the year

A no hitter is such a rare event, so when I get a chance to watch a part of that experience I quite enjoy it. Last night I was out at a concert and returned home and decided to check out the ball scores and when I did I noticed that another no hitter was in progress. I decided to flip on the tube and watch the eighth and ninth innings, I am glad I did.

Many of you know that Ubaldo Jimenez of Colorado pitched the gem against a very tough Braves lineup. His no hitter took 128 pitches and he was able to strike out 7 while walking 6. As always in a no hitter the pitcher requires some quality defensive help and Dexter Fowler played that role in this no-no.

Jimenez has been pitching very effectively over the last couple of seasons. The 26 year old was

12-12 in 2008 and last year he posted a 15-12 record. This year he has a very impressive 3-0 mark and has 20 strikeouts in 21innings. He has been one of the three most dominant pitchers in the NL, Halladay and Lincecum are both 3-0 to go along with Ubaldo.

Lincecum continues his great pitching picking up career win # 43. He has now picked up 24 K's in 20 innings and his ERA is 0.90. He has so much talent and every time he takes the hill he is dominant.

The pitching line of the night belongs to two St. Louis players. Felipe Lopez and Joe Mather stepped on the mound for the first time in their career as the Cards pen was empty and the game was into the 18th inning. Lopez pitched one inning allowing a hit and a walk, Mather pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 hits, walked three and allowed 2 ER. Mather picked up the loss but both showed their willingness to help their team.