Nolan Ryan Gets Within Two Outs of Sixth No-Hitter

Nolan Ryan, the man with the ageless arm, just keeps getting closer to that elusive sixth no-hitter.

In his fourth start since returning to the American League at 42, Ryan, now with the Texas Rangers, stretched this no-hit bid to within two outs of No. 6.

But Nelson Liriano of the Toronto Blue Jays ripped a drive down the right-field line for a triple Sunday at Toronto with one out in the ninth inning. He scored on a ground out so Ryan didn’t even get a shutout. The Rangers won, 4-1.

On April 12 at Milwaukee, in his second start, Ryan had a perfect game through seven innings before Terry Francona spoiled his effort with a single in the eighth.

Sunday, Ryan struck out 12 and walked three in his first complete game in the American League since he was with the Angels in 1979.

While Ryan has been outstanding in his two starts on the road, the home fans in the Dallas area have not seen Ryan at his best. In his two starts at Arlington, he pitched five innings in each game and gave up three runs in each.

Now, to go with his five no-hitters, Ryan has 10 one-hitters. He hasn’t pitched a no-hitter since Sept. 26, 1981, when the Dodgers were his victim in a game that clinched the NL West for Houston.

“I don’t know how many more chances I’m going to get, but the way I’ve been throwing, it’s certainly not out of the question that I’ll get another shot,” Ryan said.

Ryan, who has thrown more strikes--and balls, too for that matter--than any other pitcher in history, was having almost no trouble with the Blue Jays until Liriano, a switch hitter, came up in the ninth.

“I know he’s a pull hitter, and I was trying to throw it low and away, so if he hit it, he’d pull it on the ground,” Ryan said. “But, the pitch was in the middle of the plate and down. That’s his pitch and that’s what he did with it.”

Liriano had walked, struck out and grounded out before he became one of many to break up a Ryan no-hitter. Until his hit, the Blue Jays had not hit the ball hard one time.

“Usually, he throws me fastballs or change-ups,” Liriano said. “I tried to find a fastball I could hit and I did.”

Ryan, who pitched four no-hitters with the Angels, was signed as a free agent by the Rangers after he rejected an offer from the Angels. The Rangers gave him a two-year guaranteed contract that will pay $1.6 million this season and $1.4 million in 1990. He also got a $200,000 signing bonus.

Not a bad deal for the Rangers, considering he’s become quite a draw. When he retired the last batter to end the game, he was given a tremendous ovation by the remainder of the Toronto crowd of 31,473 who stayed for the finish in 44-degree weather.

One of the most excited people was Texas Manager Bobby Valentine, a former teammate of Ryan’s.

“It was real exciting,” Valentine said. “I was there for a couple of his no-hitters with the Angels, but I just know I’m going to be there when he pitches another. It could be the next time out.”

Baltimore 3, Minnesota 0--Pitching was the name of the game in the American League Sunday.

Bob Milacki wasn’t any Nolan Ryan, but the big 24-year-old right-hander was pretty sharp in this game at Baltimore.

Milacki, who showed promise late last year with three strong efforts for the then lowly Orioles, pitched a three-hitter against the heavy-hitting Twins.

With the brilliant performance, he pushed the leaders of the East over .500 (9-8), the only team in the division that has won more games than it has lost.

“We got a preview last season. He’s not catching us by surprise, but it may be surprising to some of the people who hadn’t seen him, “ Oriole Manager Frank Robinson said.

Milacki wasn’t too impressed by his performance, although only four balls were hit to the outfield.

“My change-up was off, and I spotted my fastball. I threw curves and sliders for most of my strikes,” the rookie said.

Kansas City 10, Boston 0--Charlie Leibrandt was convinced his five-hit shutout in the face of the Green Monster at Fenway Park was the equivalent of a masterpiece.

With Bo Jackson hitting a two-run home run to pace a 17-hit attack, all Leibrandt, a left-hander, had to worry about was the high wall in left.

In winning his first game after two losses, Leibrandt struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. He threw 100 pitches.

“With the great stuff he had today, he could have pitched on the moon and shut them down,” Kansas City Manager John Wathan said.

The win gave Leibrandt a 3-4 record at Fenway.

New York 5, Cleveland 0--In Cleveland, Andy Hawkins pitched his second strong game in a row for the Yankees, but he didn’t go the distance.

After giving up just two hits in 7 2/3 innings, Hawkins gave way to Dave Righetti, who gave uone hit in 1 1/3 innings.

Hawkins’ turnaround has the Yankees feeling better about the $3.6 million they paid Hawkins for a three-year contract for three years.

In his first two starts, he gave up 15 earned runs in nine innings. Then, last Monday he pitched a five-hit, complete game 7-2 victory.

“I didn’t throw the ball very well in my first two starts,” Hawkins said in an understatement. “That first win gave me the confidence I needed.”

Detroit 11, Milwaukee 3--There was some hitting, though.

At Milwaukee, the Tigers pounded out 14 hits, including a two-run home run by Pat Sheridan, to pace the Tigers to their second win in a row.

The Tigers, who had three hits from designated hitter Keith Moreland, also were helped by three Brewer errors.

The two straight wins improved the Tigers’ record to 5-10 and brought the usual optimism from Manager Sparky Anderson.

“I’d say today if you took a picture of the standings and then took that same picture on Oct. 1 and put them together, in both leagues, you’d see such changes it would knock your eyes out,” Anderson said.

Seattle 10, Chicago 6--The Mariners got five runs in the first inning at Chicago as Phil Bradley cleared the bases with a double that drove in three runs. Later he chipped in another double, but it drove in only one run.

Shawn Hillegas, the former Dodger, retired only two of the eight batters he faced and fell to 0-2.

RYAN’S ONE-HITTERS

A list of Nolan Ryan’s 10 one-hit games:

Date Score April 18, 1970 New York 7, Philadelphia 0 July 9, 1972 California 3, Boston 0 Aug. 29, 1973 California 5, New York 0 June 27, 1974 California 5, Texas 0 April 15, 1977 California 7, Seattle 0 May 5, 1978 California 5, Cleveland 0 July 13, 1979 California 6, New York 1 Aug. 11, 1982 Houston 3, San Diego 0 Aug. 3, 1983 Houston 1, San Diego 0 April 23, 1989 Texas 4, Toronto 1