Tyler Gilbert is a 27-year-old rookie who spent four years as a relief pitcher before stretching back out as a starter this season. He had never gone more than 6.0 innings in any professional outing. On Saturday night he made his first career Major League start against the Padres.
It was worth the wait. Tyler Gilbert threw a no-hitter.
The lefty was masterful, allowing just three baserunners (all walks to Tommy Pham) and striking out five in a 7-0 win over San DIego to record the 3rd no-hitter in Arizona franchise history. It's also the 4th time in big league history anyone has thrown a no-no in his first MLB start and the first since 1953.
Joe Musgrove started for the Padres and had one nightmare inning. Musgrove, who threw the first no-no in Padres franchise history this season, allowed five runs in the first. He did the Friars a solid in figuring out how to get through 5.0 innings with six runs allowed but that fast start by Arizona gave Gilbert a nice big cushion to work with.
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Gilbert took that and ran with it. He was efficient with his pitches, throwing (by today's standards) a tidy 102 of them to make history. The Padres hit several balls hard but every one seemed to go right to an Arizona defender. Gilbert himself snared a missile right back at him off the bat of Eric Hosmer in the 5th inning.
Gilbert's first three big league appearances were out of the bullpen. Something tells me he won't be leaving the rotation for at least a little while.
Meanwhile, it's the 4th straight loss the Padres have suffered to a last-place team. Craig Stammen gets the start on Sunday in what's going to be another bullpen day for the Padres, who still don't know if they'll have Yu Darvish available to start on Monday when the open a 3-game series in Colorado.
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