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Ortiz, Kannapolis no-hit Hagerstown

Righty combines with Lopez, Dvorsky on seven-inning feat
June 5, 2013

Braulio Ortiz had never started a game in the United States before, but his first one ended up in the history books.

The White Sox right-handed prospect struck out six and walked two in his four frames. Adam Lopez and Joe Dvorsky went on to complete the seven-inning no-hitter in Class A Kannapolis' 11-0 shutout of Hagerstown on Wednesday.

Lopez (1-1) worked around two walks in two frames to pick up the win and Dvorsky closed the door with three quick outs to seal the no-hitter and give the Intimidators a sweep of the doubleheader.

Kannapolis manager Tommy Thompson credited pitching coach Jose Bautista for preparing Ortiz for the start, which came with a pitch limit of 60.

"[Ortiz] had everything working for him -- his fastball, his slider, he even threw some changeups. He had early contact and threw early strikes," Thompson said.

The decision to take the starter out wasn't a tough one for the skipper, despite the no-hit bid.

"He still looked strong, but we want to protect him for the long haul," Thompson said. "We'd have loved to let him stay in, but he threw as many pitches as he had all year. He threw that fourth inning, warmups before the game and in between innings. He did his job."

The manager might have been so focused on his new starter that he said he didn't even realize his team had a no-hitter going until the sixth.

More experienced on that front was Dvorsky, who combined with Scott Snodgress and Blake Drake for Rookie-level Great Falls on a no-hitter on Aug. 18, 2011. 

The Intimidators celebrated the feat like they'd been there before too, even though it was only the third such gem in franchise history. The last one was hurled on Aug. 20, 2010 by Matt Wickswat, Jake Petricka and Taylor Thompson.

"We didn't dog-pile or anything," Dvorsky said. "We were all pretty happy and excited just happy to shake hands after the win."

So did Ortiz earn himself another start? Thompson declared Sunday's doubleheader in Greensboro may offer him the chance.

"[Bautista and the roving pitching instructors] are going to discuss that based on how many pitches he threw tonight," Thompson said. "He may have three days off and start again in Greensboro."

Center fielder Josh Richmond led the way offensively for Kannapolis with four RBIs.

Jefferson Olacio (2-7) allowed two runs on five hits with five strikeouts over seven innings in the 6-2 win in the opener.

Brandon Simes is a contributor to MLB.com.