Three ninth-inning defensive gems secured the Angels' first Spring Training no-hitter since 1996
Tempe Diablo Stadium was the sight of something special on Friday night, when the Angels hosted the Mariners' split squad for an AL West Spring Training matchup.
Now, a regular Spring Training game (especially one against a split-squad team) may not ordinarily register on your scale of meaningful on-field events, but this game was different. Not just because the Angels threw their first team no-hitter in Spring Training since 1996, or the first Cactus League no-hitter since '96 (but the second in MLB this spring), but how they pulled it off.
With three outs to go,
Cron speared a hard grounder off the bat of
As a result, eight Angels pitchers (Norris,
When asked by MLB.com's Maria Guardado what the no-hitter meant to him, Angels manager Mike Scioscia had this to say:
"I think what makes us feel good is the way our guys executed pitches, and obviously the defense in the ninth inning was incredible. Sometimes you can't control the results, but you control the process, and tonight all our guys that came in, the guys that are going to be important to us, made their pitches, and that was good to see."
Had Scioscia been part of a Spring Training no-no in the past?
"I have no idea. I don't remember. They're few and far between here, I'll tell you."
Sure, the game "didn't count," but those plays definitely did happen. And they were great.