Ronel Blanco had the history buffs out with his attempt at a second straight no-hitter this weekend.
The Houston Astros righty Blanco took the mound on Sunday against the Texas Rangers for his first start since throwing a surprise no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this month. Rangers batters hoping that Blanco had cooled since then were in for an unpleasant surprise.
The 28-year-old hurler continued on Sunday right where he had left off, blanking Texas in the hit column through his first 5.2 innings of work. But unfortunately, Blanco’s pursuit of an even greater place in baseball history came to an end in the sixth inning when Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia slapped a base hit up the middle. That ended Blanco’s streak of hitless innings at an incredible 14.2.
Ronel Blanco's hitless streak ends at 14.2 innings pic.twitter.com/YH0skUAWBj
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 8, 2024
With Blanco coming up short in his pursuit of a second consecutive no-no, everybody on social media made the same joke — that Johnny Vander Meer could rest easy.
https://twitter.com/jay_jaffe/status/1777134045572272616
Johnny Vander Meer can sleep well tonight
Ronel Blanco’s No hit streak ends at 14.2 IP https://t.co/wD9gFeN0Xt
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) April 8, 2024
Johnny Vander Meer stands alone https://t.co/TvpBUJzYJo pic.twitter.com/eFx0NmsCwX
— ATBBTTR (@ATBBTTR) April 8, 2024
Johnny Vander Meer can finally exhale
— Lee Bronstrop (@leesterbro) April 8, 2024
Vander Meer, a four-time All-Star who pitched 13 seasons from 1937-51 (missing two seasons due to military service), remains the only pitcher in MLB history to throw two straight no-hitters. He achieved the feat in 1938 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, shutting the Boston Bees and then the Brooklyn Dodgers out of the hit column in consecutive starts (just four days apart). Vander Meer died in 1997 at the age of 82.
As for Blanco, he was pulled after the sixth inning at 90 pitches thrown and had to just settle for picking up the win in the Astros’ eventual 3-1 victory. He has yet to give up an earned run though through his 15 innings of work this season, so perhaps Orel Hershiser’s record of 59 straight scoreless innings is next in Blanco’s sights instead of Vander Meer’s record.
