Monday is the 10th anniversary of the announcement that baseball was returning to D.C. What happened on Sunday might be one of top three highlights of that decade — Jordan Zimmermann pitching a no-hitter for the Washington Nationals:
103 pitches, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 runner advanced to first on a wild-pitch strike three and then got promptly picked off. Here is the final out, a diving catch by defensive replacement, LF Steven Souza, Jr., as told by four different broadcasters:
That’s a really good call by Bob Carpenter. It was thrilling to watch.
Zimmermann recorded just the third 9-inning no-hitter in D.C. history. Other no hitters (as seen on Washington D.C. Baseball History Facebook group):
Walter Johnson – July 1, 1920 / 9 innings
Walter Johnson – August 25, 1924 / 7 innings, game was called due to rain.
Bobby Burke – August 8, 1931 / 9 innings
Jordan Zimmermann – September 28, 2014 / 9 innings
Ian Desmond hit a second inning homer and that was all Zimmermann needed for run support.
A great game deserves a great gamer:
The ball headed out toward left field, a knife in the back of Washington baseball history. And then … http://t.co/rsKFFveD2f
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) September 29, 2014
Thomas Boswell finally saw a no-hitter:
Career no-hitters seen by this happy, happy man: one. pic.twitter.com/JY68jGXTuV
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) September 29, 2014
Holy crap. @ThomasBoswellWP writing for @dcsportsbog ?! WHAT IS LIFE https://t.co/DKnYNg10uF
— Luigi de Guzman (@ouij) September 29, 2014
My col: Jordan Zimmermann’s no-hitter and Stephen Souza’s last-out catch make for an epic ending for an epic season. http://t.co/qJDwLEyQQ0
— Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP) September 29, 2014
R27pect
— Duffy’s Nats Group! (@DuffysNatsGroup) September 29, 2014
Nationals have a slight presence in WaPo tomorrow, too. pic.twitter.com/angOQJ5dr9
— J. Freedom du Lac (@jfdulac) September 29, 2014
Area athlete wins game. @wausauherald via @Newseum pic.twitter.com/MXmZbPXLvn
— J. Freedom du Lac (@jfdulac) September 29, 2014
The only two moments that compare to this — Ryan Zimmerman’s Nationals Park Opening Night Walkoff in 2008 and Jayson Werth’s Game 4 walkoff in 2012.
So far.
This was an exclamation point to a 96-win season with home field advantage in the NL playoffs. Zimmermann’s performance gives Nats fans a roaring crescendo to the regular season. The tension of the playoffs can wait for several days as it will surely happen, particularly when the opponent is determined by the NL Wild Card play-in game.
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