Kazmir tosses DMBL's 3rd no-hitter of 2015

DMBL pitchers tied a league record with the third no-hitter this season. This time it was San Francisco's Scott Kazmir, who walked just one and struck out six in downing Vancouver, 2-0, at home on Thursday night.

Kazmir was tantalizingly close to throwing DMBL's first-ever perfect game. He walked John Jay with one out in the 5th but followed that up by inducing a ground-ball double play from Anthony Rendon, so he faced the minimum 27 batters. Of his 116 pitches, 75 went for strikes.

The Experience got all the runs they needed in the first, with a bases-loaded single by Jonathan LuCroy. The game featured zero extra-base hits.

Johnny Cueto, who tossed his own no-hitter this year, wasn't too shabby for Vancouver, going the distance. He surrendered four hits and two runs while striking out 10 and walking four. The first inning was his undoing, giving up three of his four hits and two of his four walks.

Kazmir is enjoying his best season yet after a solid year with the Experience in 2014, following three seasons away from the DMBL. He broke in as a highly-touted prospect with Hoboken in 2006. After losing 19 games in 2008, he was shipped to Philly, where he went 15-8 with a 5.03 ERA in 2009. In Vancouver the next season, he made only seven starts before disappearing. Kazmir re-emerged with San Francisco, when the Experience drafted him in 2014. He went 10-4 in 22 starts with a career-best 4.41 ERA.

With the no-hitter, Kazmir improves to 14-6 and lowers his ERA to 2.87, good for 7th in the league, and his WHIP to 1.18.

The other no-hitter this season was a combined effort for Hillsborough, by Garrett Richards and Carlos Martinez. It's the second year in a row that the league has seen a season-high three no-hitters.

It's the first no-hitter for the Experience since relocating to San Francisco. Previously, the franchise had no-hitters by Brett Myers in 2011 and AJ Burnett in 2008 when it was located in Las Vegas.