Hanson hurls Braves' first no-hitter
Hanson recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts and pitched the first no-hitter in team history Wednesday as the Braves blanked the visiting Birmingham Barons, 6-0.
"It was awesome, by far the best time I've ever had pitching in a game my whole life," Hanson said following a clubhouse celebration. "It was great. The fans were up clapping, it was an awesome time."
The Tulsa, Okla., native, who survived a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, recorded three flyouts in the ninth before he was mobbed by teammates.
"Everybody just kept hugging me, they were all real excited," Hanson said.
The Riverside Community College product walked three, hit a batter and said he wasn't even keeping track of his strikeout total.
"I still don't even know how many strikeouts I had," said Hanson, who reached double digits for the third time in his three-year career. "I wanted to attack hitters and get ahead in the count, keep them off-balance with offspeed pitches. I wasn't thinking about the strikeouts at all."
The Braves did their best to forget all the strikeouts.
"I was kind of sitting in the corner of the dugout and guys would walk by and say, 'Good job,' but you could kind of tell they were all staying away," Hanson said. "I knew they hadn't gotten a hit, but I was trying not to think about it. It was kind of funny."
Funny except for the Barons, who had just one baserunner after the second inning as Hanson struck out the side in the second, fifth and eighth.
The no-hitter eclipsed Hanson's 13-strikeout effort over five hitless innings in his season debut for Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach. He allowed 15 hits over 40 innings and posted an 0.90 ERA in seven Carolina League appearances to earn a promotion to Double-A Mississippi (6-2).
It was the second no-hitter in the Minor Leagues in five days. On Saturday, Shane Wolf, David Miller and Ashton Mowdy of the short-season Tri-City ValleyCats combined on one in a 10-0 New York-Penn League rout of the Oneonta Tigers.
Hanson's historic night began with a bases-loaded jam in the first. He issued a leadoff walk to Miguel Negron, threw a wild pitch, hit Cole Armstrong and walked Ricardo Nanita with two outs. Pitching coach Derek Botelho came out to calm his starter, and the break worked. Hanson popped up Stefan Gartrell to end the threat and was in cruise control thereafter.
"He gave me a little breather," Hanson said of Botelho. "I felt really good coming out of warmups, but I needed to bring it down a notch. Once I did that, it started to work out. I was a little too pumped up, trying to do too much."
Hanson allowed six runs over five innings in his previous start on June 18 against Montgomery.
"Since I've gotten here, I've changed a couple things and today was the first day everything clicked together," he said. "That's the main thing."
The former 22nd-round Draft pick was in command of his curve, change and slider.
"All four of my pitches, I was pretty much putting them where I needed to put them," he said. "The main thing was my command tonight."
Hanson compared the effort to a near-no-hitter he pitched last season for Class A Rome, where he struck out 12 but allowed a hit in the seventh inning against Columbus on June 5.
"I got pretty close last year in Rome, so tonight I was trying not to think about it," he said.
The reality of the no-hitter became apparent in the ninth, when the crowd of the 2,362 rose in anticipation of the feat.
"The fans started clapping on all my strikes," he said. "My adrenaline started flowing, so I was just trying to breathe, take it one pitch at a time."
Mississippi picked up Hanson after his shaky first with a pair of runs in the second. Reid Gorecki scored on a groundout and Paul Bennett lined an RBI single. Kala Ka'aihue ripped a run-scoring base hit in the third before former third-round pick Jordan Schafer delivered a bases-loaded triple.
Barons starter Dewon Day (0-2) surrendered six runs on eight hits over 2 1/3 innings.
Danny Wild is a contributor to MLB.com.
Minor League Baseball, Joe Torre Safe At Home partnership enters ninth year
For the ninth year, Minor League Baseball and Joe Torre Safe At Home have teamed up to raise awareness about violence and abuse and to inspire fans of all ages to join them in SAH’s critical work. This year, 63 MiLB teams will participate in an in-ballpark initiative from May
MiLB podcast discusses Anthony, Caglianone at Triple-A
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
These are the greatest Minor League promos happening in June
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
New playoff format coming to 2025 Dominican Summer League
Minor League Baseball announced the 2025 Dominican Summer League (DSL) season will begin June 2 with Opening Day festivities taking place at the Boston Red Sox Academy in Guerra. The 2025 campaign will also see the introduction of the DSL Cup, a new playoff format that will see 16 DSL
Debating best Minor League home caps on podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
The Omaha Storm Chasers' 'Take Meow-t' cat night included a Litter Box Sundae
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Boston's Triple-A affiliate throws birthday bash for Roman Anthony
With all the hype that has surrounded Roman Anthony over the past two seasons, it’s easy to forget how young he really is. MLB's No. 1 prospect played 70 games at the highest level of the Minors before he could order a beer. But he can now. Roman Anthony turned
Friendly foes, 2024 first-rounders Moore and Caglianone trade first Triple-A homers
For years, Christian Moore and Jac Caglianone laced up their cleats against one another in the SEC. A rivalry that spanned Florida, Tennessee and other landmarks across the South moved to Salt Lake City this week as the Royals and Angels' top prospects got simultaneous Triple-A promotions. So it was
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other