Faedo, SeaWolves throw no-hitter

Alex Faedo needed a clean start after one of the worst outings of his career last week. On Wednesday afternoon, he wrote his name into history.
Faedo, the Tigers' No. 10 prospect, and reliever Drew Carlton combined on Double-A Erie's first no-hitter in almost 10 years as the SeaWolves blanked Bowie, 4-0, at UPMC Park.
"It was a really special moment for the whole team," Faedo said. "Really proud of Drew coming in and closing it down. I was getting really nervous."
Faedo, Detroit's first-round pick in the 2017 Draft, struck out five and walked one over seven hitless innings for his first win of the season. He threw 58 of his 90 pitches for strikes and allowed just three baserunners before Carlton, a 23-year-old right-hander, held the Baysox hitless in the eighth and ninth to seal Erie's first no-hitter since Aug. 22, 2009 when Thad Weber struck out 10 in a 16-0 win over Akron.

"I guess you notice there's no hits on the board," Faedo said, "but it was a 2-0 game the whole time I was in there, so I was thinking more of not trying to get guys on base. I didn't want to get one in the air and tie the ballgame."
Faedo and Carlton allowed just five fly balls all day. 
"I was just trying to win the game," Faedo said.
It was the fourth no-hitter in the Minors this season, the third no-hitter in SeaWolves history and the second no-no in the Eastern League this month -- Harrisburg's Erick Fedde, Jordan Mills and Aaron Barrett also combined to hold the Baysox hitless on April 6.
Faedo (1-1) took the mound looking to bounce back from his worst start since last summer after he allowed seven runs on nine hits in four innings in a loss to Binghamton on April 18. He struck out Rylan Bannon to end a 1-2-3 first inning, fanned two in the second, got T.J. Nichting to go down swinging to end the third and worked around a two-out walk to Bannon in the fourth. Faedo hit Brett Cumberland with one out in the fifth but got Alex Torres to ground into an inning-ending double play before working a flawless sixth. Yusniel Díaz reached on a two-out throwing error by Erie shortstop Sergio Alcántara in the seventh, but Faedo escaped by retiring Martin Cervenka on his 90th pitch. 
Carlton took over and erased a leadoff walk in the eighth with a double play from Torres. He struck out Nichting and Ryan McKenna in a hitless ninth to end the 1 hour, 55-minute game.
Gameday box score
Faedo said he had a 100-pitch limit and that it would be "almost impossible" to come out and finish the eighth and ninth. "The bullpen is so good, no matter who else was coming out, I trust them, Drew or whoever, to finish it out," he said.

Alex Faedo and Drew Carlton allowed just four batters to reach base on Wednesday before posing with the UPMC Park scoreboard. (SeaWolves)
Faedo received a $3.5 million signing bonus after the Tigers' made him their top pick in the 2017 Draft out of Florida. The 6-foot-5 righty went 5-10 with a 4.02 ERA in 24 starts between Class A Advanced Lakeland and Erie last year, striking out 110 and walking 35 in 121 innings.

Things have gone more smoothly this season in his return to the Eastern League. He struck out seven and held Trenton to a pair of hits in his season debut on April 6 and then limited Binghamton to two earned runs over six innings on April 11, when he struck out eight.
"It was awesome," Faedo said when asked about bouncing back from his last outing. "I've had a couple rough outings. But I just remember what Rabsy (Erie manager Mike Rabelo) told me last season: good players have to find a way to bounce back, and it's a snowball effect."
Faedo's post-game comments were then abruptly cut short when he took a shaving cream pie to the face.
Tweet from @tigers: How good was @FaedoAlex today? He was able to stay calm as Old Town Road played in the @erie_seawolves clubhouse. 🔊#RoadToDetroit pic.twitter.com/aZKhsYOM1r
Faedo's only other scoreless seven-inning performance came last May 18 against Tampa.
Erie gave its starter a lead in the fourth on Kody Eaves' two-run homer off Marcos Molina. Troy Montgomery doubled the lead in the seventh with his first home run, a two-run shot to right off Brian Gonzalez. The SeaWolves (9-7) had five hits. Molina dropped to 0-3 despite allowing just two runs on three hits and a walk over 6 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic was released by the Mets last July and signed with Baltimore on Feb. 18.