For just the 11th time in New York Yankees history, a starting pitcher recorded a no-hitter in a regular-season contest. Two-time Cy Young award-winning pitcher, Corey Kluber, went nine innings without giving up a hit and was just one walk away from a perfect game.
Kluber, who missed virtually the entire 2020 season and pitched just 35.2 innings in 2019, has already surpassed that mark with 41.1 innings this season, hosting a 2.86 ERA after blanking Texas in one of the most outstanding performances of the year.
Coreybook Ending pic.twitter.com/2156vAfjWU
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 20, 2021
The Yankees needed Kluber and no more for victory:
While the Yankees extracted the win with just two runs on the board, they didn’t need much more to get the job done, as Kluber showed up with elite-level pitching, missing on only a few pitches. With four wins on the season, he has already established himself as a sure-fire number two behind Gerrit Cole, something the Yankees lacked in previous years.
If Kluber can continue to dominate, Yankees will have a fantastic starting rotation during the elimination series in postseason play, and with Luis Severino expected to return within the next few months, we should be extremely optimistic regarding the future of this team on defense.
While the offense still needs to rejuvenate and produce more consistent performances, there’s no time for negativity. Kluber only needed 101 pitches to get the job done, throwing 71 strikes. He was bailed out a few times toward the end by his teammates but managed to battle back the jitters and energy that ultimately accompanies throwing a no-hitter.
The last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a Yankee uniform was David Cone, who is currently a broadcaster for YES network.
Wednesday will undoubtedly go down in history books, and Kluber’s performance is exactly what he needed to re-establish himself as one of the best starters in baseball. It has been quite some time since he’s been considered as such, but he’s right on track to gaining back the respect he deserves.