... in his first MLB appearance. Wow! A pitcher throwing a no-hitter in his first major league appearance hasn't happened since  1953. I remember thinking how exciting it was that Eddie Rosario hit a home run on the first pitch in his first at bat in the majors ... well, this is 1000 times that. Or more. I mean ... what would be comparable to this?

 

It was Gilbert's first major league *start*. He was a seasoned veteran of 3 relief appearances before throwing his no-hitter last night.

Wilson Alvarez came very close to do this. His first MLB appearance was a start in 1989, at age 19 (!) for the Rangers, and he faced 5 batters without recording a single out (and he gave up 2 BB and 2 HR). His next appearance was a no-hitter for the White Sox in 1991.

Almost as improbable, Gilbert was selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft last winter.

Twins angle: Gilbert was traded for Kyle Garlick in February 2020.

Fun story for sure! Like so many no-hitters, the defense really came through (including Gilbert himself) catching 3 hard hit line drives in the infield along with a leaping catch to save a home run in left.

Otto, almost too close to home on that one. The last thing I need to hear is a connection like Wells throwing a no-hitter in Baltimore and last I heard, they're strongly considering moving him into the rotation. Whew!