John Means becomes first Orioles pitcher to throw complete game no-hitter since 1969

John Means threw a nine-inning no-hitter in the Baltimore Orioles’ 6-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

MLB fans have seen Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres and Carlos Rodon of the Chicago White Sox throw no hitters in the first month of campaign. Now, they have a new member of the club in John Means.

On Wednesday afternoon, Means threw a nine-inning no hitter in  the Baltimore Orioles‘ 6-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners after striking out 12 batters on 113 pitches. The deed was completed after getting Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford to line-out to Baltimore’s Ramon Urias.

Means has now thrown the Orioles’ first no-hitter since 1991, where the team had a combined no-no against the Oakland Athletics. However, this is the first individual no-hitter in Baltimore’s history since Jim Palmer did so back in 1969!

Why wasn’t John Means no-hitter a perfect game?

Many are wondering why Mean’s no-hitter was not called a perfect game. That is due to a dropped third strike in the bottom of the third-inning, allowing Mariners outfielder Sam Haggerty to reach first base. However, his stint on the base path did not last long, as he was caught stealing second base by Orioles catcher Pedro Severino while Crawford was up at-bat.

While it might sting a little that Means did not get the perfect game, a no-hitter is a pretty great consolation prize.

Following this performance, Means now holds a perfect 4-0 record, a 1.37 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP through seven games this season. Additionally, Means has struck out 50 batters and walked 10 through 46.0 innings of work.

It has been a long time for Orioles fans to witness an individual no-hitter. Now, they can say they saw one on May 5, 2021, thanks to the stellar performance from John Means.