Every no-hitter requires a degree of luck and fate, and the planets aligning properly. A bad bounce here or a poor decision there can be enough to separate a pitcher from his place in history and, "Sorry, not today." Curt Schilling learned that a week ago. But yesterday, Justin Verlander had a chance to put his name in the history books.
With all of his pitches going for him, and the Brewers swinging away, Verlander retired 12 of 27 betters by strikeout. Almost all of the rest were defensive gems by the Tigers' defence. ''It was the best thing that ever happened to me,'' he said. "About the fifth or sixth you can't help but think about it a little,'' Verlander said. ''Everyone kept giving me high-fives and nobody came and sat next to me.''
Verlander now joins Mark Buehrle as the 2 pitchers who have thrown no-hitters this year. There have now been 3 no-hitters in less than a year, this happening after the longest time without a no-hitter in MLB history.
'A lot of things go through your mind when something like this happens,'' Leyland said, fighting back tears. ''I'm very happy for him, happy for the team, happy for the fans to see something special.''
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