DATELINE APRIL 21, 2018 --
Oakland, CA
Sean Manaea, a flamethrowing southpaw on the left coast, has made quite the impression on the visiting Boston nine this evening, setting down the Americans in rapid succession. The giant Athletic twirled scoreless baseball for the full nine rounds, without surrendering a single hit. Nine of the final ten Bostonians went by the way, with only a pass on balls marring perfection.
Manaea came to Oakland via Kansas City, traded to the Golden State along with Aaron Brooks (now pitching for Milwaukee's AAA affiliate) in exchange for the 2015 World's Series Hero Ben Zobrist.
2018 Looks to be a big year for the young portsider - His 2017 contributions were tops among his teammates. The big question surrounding the one they call the "Baby Giraffe" - can he repeat the feat?
It was not that long ago now that Johnny Vander Meer set down two
consecutive teams without a base hit, in June of 1938. Can Manaea match the mark? Both lefties are a bit under the radar. Both blanked Boston in their first no-nos. Before the first no-hitter, Manaea had never thrown a complete game, let alone a no-hit shutout. Johnny had thrown his first career shutout earlier that season, and had pitched three complete games in the starts before, including 10 innings against Saint Louis. All of those starts, and the three starts after the feat resulted in wins for the Redlegs.
Manaea's next start figures to be Friday night against the defending champs, the Houston Astros. A Tall task indeed for the six foot five lefty.
