It seemed like any other night in Arlington, Texas. The only thing that seemed different was the threat of inclement weather on the horizon for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Nobody could have predicted that they would see the Texas Rangers go hitless in the seventh game of the 2021 regular season. It is always special when someone throws a no-hitter. This Friday, however, was extra special. It just happened to be the first no-hitter in the history of the San Diego Padres.
Home Grown Talent
Fans were understandably disappointed to see their Rangers go hitless, but on the other hand, many of them will probably tip their cap to Padres starting pitcher and San Diego native Joe Musgrove. Musgrove was the arm behind this historic masterpiece on the mound at Globe Life Field. He did it in front of a limited capacity crowd. In their previous games against the Kanas City Royals, the Rangers featured full capacity crowds. When Musgrove took the hill on Friday, they were back to limited spectators. For the right-hander Musgrove, it didn’t matter. He went the full nine innings without allowing a hit while his teammates got him three runs of support. The final score was 3-0.
Different Kind of Hit
Musgrove’s only mistake ironically came in the form of a hit, but not the kind that would wreck his no-hitter. It came in the bottom of the fourth inning. The batter was Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Musgrove hit Gallo with a cut fastball. Gallo trotted down to first base, but he would go no further. That one pitch turned out to be the only thing that stood between Musgrove and perfection. In his effort, he didn’t walk anybody, and he struck out ten. One can only imagine how long this will take to sink in for the young righty, as well as the entire Padres organization. It was a night that will never be forgotten.
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