4.05.2008

FIRST-WEEK FRESHMEN

Two young pitchers had really outstanding 2008 debuts this week. You've probably heard about Johnny Cueto's 10-strikeout effort, which was historic for the Reds organization and has him, at the moment, leading the NL in K's. Congrats to Yuma!

Less heralded, however, would be today's outing by Manny Parra, who took a no-hitter into the sixth against the Giants only to lose his shutout on a Eugenio Velez protect swing, a passed ball and a bad route by CF Rajai Davis. Still, his line was impressive: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 7 K. A nice omen of sorts for Brooklyn.

By the way, when Jimmy Jones debuted for the Padres in September of 1986, he twirled a one-hit shutout, which at the time was a record of sorts that he shared with (interestingly enough) Juan Marichal. Since that time, however, two pitchers have spun no-hitters in their second major-league start (Wilson Alvarez and Clay Buchholz), and of course Kerry Wood fanned 20 Astros not so long ago in his fifth outing as a pro, a one-hitter that at least one scoring system claimed was the most-dominant pitched game ever.

It's past noon. Time to check the free agent bids....!

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