LAWRENCEVILLE, GA - Columbus Clippers starter Shane Bieber tossed 7.0 no-hit innings against the Gwinnett Stripers in a rain-shortened 7-0 win Friday night at Coolray Field.
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA - Columbus Clippers starter Shane Bieber tossed 7.0 no-hit innings against the Gwinnett Stripers in a rain-shortened 7-0 win Friday night at Coolray Field.
Bieber (W, 2-1) faced the minimum 21 batters over the seven frames as he struck out seven and walked none. Xavier Avery was the only Gwinnett player to reach base in the game, taking first base on a fielding error by Clippers' shortstop Eric Stamets with one out in the third inning. Avery was quickly erased on a caught stealing.
Only two balls left the infield against Bieber, who lowered his ERA to 1.05 over his first five career Triple-A starts. The 22-year-old right-hander be became the first pitcher to no-hit Gwinnett since Norfolk's Chris Tillman tossed a 9.0-inning no-hitter in a 6-0 win on April 28, 2010.
Aníbal Sánchez, making his second Gwinnett start while on rehab from Atlanta, proved a worthy adversary for Bieber. He allowed just one hit while striking out four over 3.0 innings.
Jason Hursh relieved Sanchez in the fourth without allowing a run, but trouble started in the fifth. With one out, Stamets singled and stole second. John Berti similarly followed with a single and steal, putting both in scoring position. Todd Hankins then hit a sharp grounder to shortstop, but Sean Kazmar Jr. couldn't field it cleanly, allowing Stamets to score on the error. Yu Chang followed with an RBI single, then Brandon Barnes put down a squeeze bunt to plate the third run. Mike Papi added an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Hursh (L, 0-2) was finished after 2.0 innings, allowing four runs - two earned - on five hits and two walks. David Peterson entered in the sixth and also had a rough inning as the Clippers plated three more runs, two on a single by Chang and another on a single by Papi. Peterson exited after just 0.2 innings with three runs on three hits. Chad Bell pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing two hits with four strikeouts.
As the rain picked up through the seventh and eighth innings, the umpires determined it was too heavy to continue play in the top of the eighth with one out and Chang batting. The game was officially called at 10:01 p.m., sealing Bieber's no-hit night.
Chang finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Stamets was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
The Stripers (19-27) look to rebound Saturday against the Clippers (23-23) with game two of the series starting at 6:05 p.m. Starting pitchers for both teams have yet to be announced. Tony Schiavone the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 5:35 p.m.
