Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. Verlander had a perfect game through eight innings, but he walked Toronto's J.P. Arencibia on a 12-pitch at bat. Verlander rebounded by getting Edwin Encarnacion to ground into a double play, and he retired the final three batters of the game in the ninth inning for the no-hitter.
Verlander has now thrown two no-hitters in his career. His first came on June 12, 2007, against the Milwaukee Brewers. That no-hitter was at home, whereas the one against the Blue Jays on Saturday came at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
This is the second no-hitter in Major League Baseball this week. The first came on Tuesday, May 3, in a game between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. Minnesota's Francisco Liriano was the pitcher that recorded that no-hitter, and now another pitcher in the AL Central has pulled off the feat with Verlander no-hitting the Blue Jays on Saturday.
By the way, the Tigers won the game, 9-0. It wasn't even close for most of the game, and the Tigers added two runs in the top of the ninth. Verlander's no-hitter was the exclamation point on the victory, and it is just another sign of how great of a pitcher he is.