from Baltimore Orioles.com and www.yardbarker.com…
Even though he has been dominant this season, Oriole starter John Means thought a day like Wednesday was out of the question. He had never even pitched into the eighth inning of a game, and in Brandon Hyde’s three seasons as Orioles manager, he’d never allowed a pitcher to get even two outs in the eighth.
That all changed Wednesday, a day that will go down in Orioles history.
Means pitched the Orioles’ first no-hitter since July 13, 1991 and the sixth in team history. He faced 27 hitters, the minimum number. When he struck out Seattle’s Sam Haggerty in the third, Haggerty reached first when the low breaking ball got past catcher Pedro Severino and was ruled a wild pitch. Haggerty then was thrown out by Severino trying to steal.
former Greensboro Grasshoppers manager, and current Baltimore Orioles manager, Brandon Hyde, reacted to the Orioles no-hitter from Means…
“My stomach was turning from the eighth on,” Hyde said. “A lot of things are going through your head … I was just pulling for the guy. I had Dillon Tate up while we were hitting in the ninth. I didn’t want anybody up while he was pitching in the bottom of the ninth.
“‘How quickly can I get Tate in the game because he’s going to throw more pitches than I’m comfortable with after a hit?’ I wanted us to get three quick outs in the top of the ninth because I wanted to get it going.”
Means threw first-pitch strikes to 26 of 27 hitters. He struck out 12 and threw 113 pitches in the Orioles’ 6-0 win over the Seattle Mariners before 6,742 at T-Mobile Park.
“I didn’t know until, I think it was the sixth,” Means said about the no-hitter. “When you pitch away, they definitely let you know from the stands if you have a no-hitter or not. I finally figured that out. In the dugout, I just tried to keep my calm, keep my focus, and not worry about it too much and just stay loose.
“I was trying to talk to as many people as I could, and laugh and joke and try to stay as loose as I possibly can.”
It was the first non-perfect no-hitter in history with no walks, no batters hit-by-pitch and no errors, It was accomplished by a pitcher who was selected in the 11th round of the 2014 draft and who was never a top prospect.
“It’s special, it’s pretty crazy,” Means said. “I hope it lets everybody, every kid coming up knowing that anybody can do it. I was on my way out in the minor leagues, [trying to] figure out how to make a living out of this and, hopefully, kids coming up, even the ones overlooked, they have a chance.”
In the ninth inning, Means retired Dylan Moore on a popup to third baseman Rio Ruiz in foul territory, struck out Haggerty and, on the first pitch of the at-bat, J.P. Crawford hit a soft liner to shortstop Ramón Urias.
“When I started the inning, I got a little bit of the Jello legs,” Means said. “I felt a little wobbly, but once I threw that first pitch, I was able to lock in again.”
In the eighth inning, Seattle’s Kyle Lewis led off with a hard hit ball to deep left field that Austin Hays caught.
“I think I told Hays that ball was way out,” Means said. “Thank God he was there to catch it. If this was Camden Yards, it was probably gone. I’m glad we’re in Seattle.”
Manager Brandon Hyde saw two no-hitters by former Oriole Jake Arrieta when he was a coach with the Chicago Cubs, one in August 2015 and another in April 2016. This was much harder to watch.
“My stomach was turning from the eighth on,” Hyde said. “A lot of things are going through your head … I was just pulling for the guy. I had Dillon Tate up while we were hitting in the ninth. I didn’t want anybody up while he was pitching in the bottom of the ninth.
“‘How quickly can I get Tate in the game because he’s going to throw more pitches than I’m comfortable with after a hit?’ I wanted us to get three quick outs in the top of the ninth because I wanted to get it going.”
Means has been exceptional this season. On Opening Day, he allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings in Boston against the Red Sox.
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It’s been a year in which Means has become one of baseball’s top pitchers. In 2020, he lost his father, Alan, to pancreatic cancer in August, pitched poorly, and then rebounded to throw four strong games to finish the season.
“I looked at my glove right before I went out there for the ninth,” Means said. “It has [my father’s] initials on it, and I said to myself, ‘he wouldn’t care, he’s just glad that I’m having a good time.’ The accolades never mattered to him, but it was pretty special, and I know he’d be proud.”
The last Orioles’ no-hitter was thrown by four pitchers — Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson. Jim Palmer threw the Orioles’ last solo no-hitter on August 13, 1969.
Palmer broadcast the combined no-hitter in Oakland in 1991 and watched Means’ no-hitter at home in California.