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John Means of the Baltimore Orioles Pitches No – Hitter vs. Seattle Mariners
Introduction
On Wednesday, May 5th, 2021 the Baltimore Orioles veteran left – handed starting pitcher, John Means, threw a no – hitter against the Seattle Mariners from T – Mobile Park located in Seattle, Washington. Means was extremely close to pitching the extremely rare perfect game, but John allowed one base runner to reach base.
Sam Haggerty of the Seattle Mariners reached first base in the third inning on a third – strike wild pitch. Shortly after reaching first base safely in the game Haggerty was caught stealing second base so the Seattle Mariners never had a player move in to scoring position at any point during this exciting contest.
Major League Baseball History was Made
Means is the first Major League Baseball to lose a perfect game bid on a third – strike wild pitch. The Baltimore Orioles eventually defeated the Seattle Mariners with a final score of 6 to 0 on Wednesday. John pitched the first individual no – hitter in the Baltimore Orioles franchise history since Jim Palmer accomplished the feat back in 1969.
That marked the longest stretch for any Major League Baseball team without an individual no – hitter as the Baltimore Orioles had a four – pitcher combined no – hitter back in 1991. Now the Pittsburgh Pirates hold the longest active streak without a no–hitter in Major League Baseball. The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates had a pitcher throw a no – hitter was in 1976 when John Candelaria managed to do so.
John Means Brought his Best Stuff to the Park
Up until Wednesday, May 5th, 2021 Means has never pitched past the seventh inning in a single game, but John had the Seattle Mariners perplexed all day with his arsenal consisting of a low – 90’s miles per hour sinker, a sweet curveball, and an outstanding change up. He ended up striking out 12 batters as well as inciting 26 swings and misses by the Seattle Mariner hitters.
Means threw first – pitch strikes to an unbelievable 26 of the 27 batters that he faced which is the highest percentage of first – pitch strikes in a complete game during the pitch – tracking era which began in 1988. John is having an amazing start to the 2021 MLB season for the Baltimore Orioles as Means now has a record of 4 and 0 to go along with his 1.37 earned run average.
Post – Game Media Statement
"Yeah, right now it doesn't matter at all to be honest with you," Means explained after the game. "I was just happy I made a good pitch, I was struggling with the curveball recently, so I was just happy I got it over and got a swing and miss on it, so that is all I was happy about. I was just trying to keep my cool with him on first base. I'm glad Sevy (catcher Pedro Severino) made up for it by getting him out at second. I have to be able to do that to get the changeup working. Sevvy (catcher Pedro Severino) called a great game. Those fastballs saved me."
Current MLB Standings as of Wednesday, May 5th, 2021
American League East
Boston Red Sox 18 – 12 0 Games Behind
New York Yankees 15 – 14 2.5 Games Behind
Tampa Bay Rays 16 – 15 2.5 Games Behind
Toronto Blue Jays 14 – 14 3 Games Behind
Baltimore Orioles 15 – 16 3.5 Games Behind
American League Central
Kansas City Royals 16 – 12 0 Games Behind
Chicago White Sox 16 – 13 0.5 Games Behind
Cleveland Indians 15 – 13 1 Game Behind
Minnesota Twins 11 – 17 5 Games Behind
Detroit Tigers 8 – 22 9 Games Behind
American League West
Oakland Athletics 19 – 12 0 Games Behind
Seattle Mariners 17 – 15 2.5 Game Behind
Houston Astros 15 – 14 3 Games Behind
Los Angeles Angels 13 – 15 4.5 Games Behind
Texas Rangers 14 – 17 5 Games Behind
National League East
Philadelphia Phillies 16 – 15 0 Game Behind
Atlanta Braves 14 – 16 1.5 Game Behind
Washington Nationals 12 – 14 1.5 Games Behind
New York Mets 11 – 13 1.5 Games Behind
Miami Marlins 13 – 16 2 Games Behind
National League Central
St. Louis Cardinals 18 – 12 0 Games Behind
Milwaukee Brewers 17 – 14 1.5 Games Behind
Cincinnati Reds 14 – 15 3.5 Games Behind
Chicago Cubs 14 – 16 4 Game Behind
Pittsburgh Pirates 13 – 16 4.5 Games Behind
National League West
San Francisco Giants 18 – 13 0 Game Behind
San Diego Padres 17 – 14 1 Games Behind
Los Angeles Dodgers 17 – 14 1 Games Behind
Arizona Diamondbacks 15 – 15 2.5 Games Behind
Colorado Rockies 12 – 19 6 Games Behind
Odds to Win the MLB 2021 World Series
According to Intertops sportsbook below are the odds to win the MLB 2021 World Series as of Wednesday, May 5th, 2021. Currently the Baltimore Orioles have the 5th lowest odds to win it all for this exciting 162 game regular season of Major League Baseball in addition to the 2021 MLB playoffs. The Seattle Mariners odds are not much better as they have the 7th lowest odds to win this year’s MLB World Series in the eyes of the Intertops book makers.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 350 |
| New York Yankees | 600 |
| San Diego Padres | 750 |
| New York Mets | 900 |
| Chicago White Sox | 1000 |
| Oakland Athletics | 1200 |
| Atlanta Braves | 1400 |
| Houston Astros | 1600 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1800 |
| St Louis Cardinals | 1800 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 1800 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 2000 |
| Boston Red Sox | 2000 |
| Minnesota Twins | 2500 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 3000 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 3300 |
| Cleveland Indians | 3300 |
| Washington Nationals | 3300 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 3500 |
| Chicago Cubs | 5000 |
| Kansas City Royals | 5000 |
| San Francisco Giants | 5000 |
| Miami Marlins | 6000 |
| Seattle Mariners | 6600 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 12500 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 15000 |
| Texas Rangers | 20000 |
| Detroit Tigers | 30000 |
| Colorado Rockies | 30000 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 30000 |
Sources:
“Baltimore Orioles' John Means pitches no-hitter vs. Seattle Mariners, misses perfect game with wild pitch on strikeout”, David Schoenfield, espn.com, May 5, 2021.
“John Means”, baseball-reference.com, May 5, 2021.
“MLB Standings 2021”, espn.com, May 5, 2021.
“United States, MLB Futures, MLB 2021 World Series: To Win Outright”, intertops.eu, May 5, 2021.