Lights Out

By now you've read about Anibal Sanchez' near no-hitter last night. His stat-line:

9.0 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 3 BB, 9 K, .315 WPA

Had Dexter Fowler's 9th inning broken-bat single not made it through the infield, it would have been the 25th no-hitter in MLB history in which the losing team scored a run (out of 270 total). Here's the highlight reel. I don't have too much to add, but Joe Frisaro's recap for MLB.com has some good quotes:

"Everything was working today," said Sanchez, whose fastball had life at 94-95 mph. "In my last start, I saw my velocity was good. I know I am throwing harder than last year. I'm feeling it right now. I'm using my breaking ball for strikeouts."

"I was swinging at bad pitches and had fouled one ball back in four [plate appearances]," Fowler said. "He had some good stuff tonight. I got some good wood on it. I would say that was my best swing but he blew my bat up."

"Anibal has a very strong mental approach for the game," [Edwin] Rodriguez said. "It takes mental toughness to keep the composure, and he did. He was kind of effectively wild today."