"I missed a lot of time in the first half, two and a half months that I couldn't
help my team at all," Iwakuma said through interpreter Antony Suzuki.
"That's all I have in mind, come back and give it all I've got. Every start I have,
make up for the lost time that I've had the first half and do everything to
contribute for the team."
===================================================================================
Iwakuma's no-hitter: Did You Know?
By Joey Nowak / MLB.com | 6:51 PM ET
? The no-hitter was Iwakuma's first career complete game.
? The last three no-hitters thrown by American League pitchers have been
authored by the Mariners -- Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game in a 1-0
victory over the Rays on Aug. 15, 2012, and six pitchers combined to toss a
no-hitter against the Dodgers in a 1-0 win on June 8, 2012.
? Hideo Nomo (with two) is the only other Japanese pitcher in MLB history to
throw a no-hitter. Nomo also no-hit the Orioles, doing so on April 4, 2001.
? The 34-year-old Iwakuma is the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter since
40-year-old Randy Johnson threw a perfect game for the D-backs against the
Braves at Turner Field on May 18, 2004.
===================================================================================
Kuma makes history in flashing vintage form
Oft overshadowed by King Felix, Mariners veteran proves he can't be taken lightly
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @castrovince | 7:44 PM ET
Remember a time -- brief, but existent, all the same -- when it wasn't totally
crazy to suggest that the best pitcher on the Seattle Mariners was somebody other
than Felix Hernandez?
That time was 2013, specifically. Hisashi Iwakuma -- the man who in Wednesday's
3-0 win over the O's became just the second Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter
in the Majors -- was a revelation that year, just his second season stateside.
Indeed, it's been a roller-coaster year for Iwakuma. He was ineffective, then
he was injured, then he was trade bait, then he wasn't. The Mariners got criticized
in some corners for holding onto Iwakuma through the July 31 non-waiver Trade
Deadline in a disappointing season, in advance of his free agency, but ownership
valued the 34-year-old right-hander and evidently still views him as a part of
the picture in 2016.
When it was over, you could see Hernandez congratulating his teammate while wearing
one of those goofy "Kuma Bear" caps. Yes, there was a time when even King Felix
played second fiddle to an overwhelming Iwakuma. Those days are gone, but, for one day
at least, King Felix wore the novelty hat and Iwakuma wore the crown.
Iwakuma joins Nomo among Japanese legends
By Andrew Simon / MLB.com | 6:27 PM ET
A new day began in Japan with a new national hero.
That's because Hisashi Iwakuma, who completed his no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over
the O's on Wednesday at what was just after 7 a.m. on Thursday in Japan, joined
Hideo Nomo as the only Japanese pitchers to accomplish the feat in the Major Leagues.
The first came in 1996, a year after Nomo joined the Dodgers as the first MLB player
from Japan in more than 30 years. Then 26, Nomo became an instant sensation, sparking
"Nomo-mania" with his tornado-like delivery and nasty forkball on his way to National
League All-Star and Rookie of the Year honors.
Near the end of that dynamic first season, the Dodgers traveled to the hitter's
paradise of Coors Field to take on the Rockies, who scored a Major League-high 5.9
runs per game that season. It was in these uncomfortable conditions that Nomo made history.
Although he walked four batters, Nomo also struck out eight in a 9-0 Los Angeles victory.
He whiffed Ellis Burks for the final out of what's still the only no-hitter in Coors Field history.
"Hideo Nomo has done what they said could not be done, not in the Mile High City, not at
Coors Field in Denver," said legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, who was on the call.
Nomo's second no-hitter was unlikely in its own way. From 1998-2001, Nomo bounced from the
Dodgers to four other clubs as his performance dipped. For the Red Sox in '01, he posted
a 4.50 ERA in 33 starts.
But in his very first start that season, on April 4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, the
unhittable Nomo of 1995-96 reappeared. He walked three but struck out 11 for the first
no-no in the history of that ballpark. It also was the earliest no-hitter by date in MLB
history, and Nomo became the fourth pitcher to accomplish the feat in both leagues.
After no big league action in three years, Nomo made three appearances with the Royals in
2008 before retiring. In nearly 2,000 career innings, he went 123-109 with a 4.24 ERA and
1,918 strikeouts, a rate of 8.7 per nine innings. He was elected to the Japanese Baseball
Hall of Fame in January.
Jones on Kuma's no-no: 'He threw his game'
Despite 'not just a normal loss,' O's stay positive heading into homestand
By Doug Miller / MLB.com | 8:10 PM ET
Slugger Chris Davis, who had homered in the first two games in Seattle, said
the focus in this situation should be on Iwakuma's mastery of the strike zone
and not on the Orioles' offensive ineffectiveness.
"There's not much to say about it," Davis said. "He threw the ball really well,
and I felt like as the game went on, he got stronger and stronger. He was
obviously moving his split around, elevated his fastball up high with two
strikes. He didn't back down.
"That's the thing that I think you kept seeing, was he was getting ahead of
guys. He wasn't trying to pitch around anybody. What did he have, three walks?
I felt like every one of them were earned. Like I said, he didn't back down."
