Ladner’s James Paxton has become just the second Canadian-born pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to throw a no-hitter.
The 29-year-old Seattle Mariners southpaw shutout the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. Paxton needed 99 pitches, striking out seven and walking three. He received some outstanding support behind him including a diving stop by third baseman Kyle Seager to rob Kevin Pillar of a hit in the bottom of the seventh.
Paxton’s final out pitch to Josh Donaldson was clocked at 99 mph. It was also the first complete game of his MLB career.
“That last inning was just a lot of fastballs. I was just out there throwing as hard as I could and guys were making every play behind me,” Paxton told Rogers Sportsnet.
“It’s very special. I couldn't think of a better place to have done it in Canada with Canadian fans.”
The last Canadian pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Dick Fowler back on Sept. 9 in 1945.
The Delta Secondary graduate becomes the sixth Seattle Mariner to accomplish the feat joining Randy Johnson (1990), Chris Bosio (1993), Felix Hernandez (2012) and Hisashi Iwakuma (2015). There was also a collective effort in 2012.
The last pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Rogers Centre was Justin Verlander in 2011.
Paxton’s previous start saw him record a career-high 16 strikeouts in a no-decision against the Oakland A's last week at Safeco Field.
