On Wednesday, July 27, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana(notes) pitched the team’s first no-hitter in 27 years during this 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Santana struck out 10 Indians and walked only one while allowing only two base runners the entire game.
Santana’s performance is surprising. His career record against the Indians was 0-6 with a 4.98 ERA in 10 starts coming into the game. When the game started, I thought his fortunes against the Indians weren’t going to change. Cleveland center fielder Ezequiel Carrera(notes) led the game off with a grounder off of Angels’ shortstop Erick Aybar’s(notes) glove. He reached base on the error and later scored on a Santana wild pitch.
That run was huge considering neither team had scored more than three runs a game in the series so far. Santana could easily have done what he’s often done in the past: lose control of the game. Instead, he settled down and went after Cleveland’s hitters. He became the pitcher that I’ve always hoped he’d be.
Whenever I’ve watched Santana over the years, I’ve done nothing but shake my head. Sometimes he’s nearly unhittable and sometimes it’s as if he’s throwing batting practice to opposing hitters who then knock his pitches all over the ballpark. Because of his erratic play, Santana has often been the subject of trade talk.
However, in his last two starts, Santana has finally gotten it together. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his last start against Baltimore, and against Cleveland, Santana was completely dominant. One by one, he mowed down Indians hitters. Santana made them look silly as he grew stronger over the course of the game. In fact, there were only two hitters in the Indians’ lineup that didn’t strike out against Santana.
I don’t know where Santana goes from here, but he’s proving that Danny Haren and Jered Weaver(notes) aren’t the only two pitchers on the Angels’ pitching staff capable of being aces for the club. Santana becomes the first Angels pitcher in 27 years to throw a no-hitter, which is surprising considering the quality players they’ve had on the team over the years. Angel greats like Chuck Finley, Kirk McCaskill, Bartolo Colon(notes), and Weaver all have fallen short of this historic feat.
Hopefully, this no-hitter serves as a launching pad for Santana as he tries to help the Angels pull out the AL West. Too many pitchers have never been the same after they achieve what Santana achieved against the Indians. Yet I think this is just the beginning for Santana, and I’m glad I got to witness it.
Derek Ciapala has been a fan of the Angels since childhood. His favorite Angels moment is when they won the 2002 World Series in seven games over the San Francisco Giants.