Bewerbungen » Jordan Zimmermann was in peak form on opening day.

TORONTO (AP) — The right-hander took a perfect game into the seventh inning http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , Christin Stewart hit a two-run homer in the 10th and the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 Thursday.“One of those days where everything was working and the command was really good,” Zimmermann said.Zimmermann, who pitched a no-hitter for Washington on the final day of the 2014 season, came close to bookending it — Hall of Famer Bob Feller threw the only no-hitter on opening day, for Cleveland in 1940.This bid ended when Teoscar Hernandez reached on a two-out infield single. Hernandez grounded a 1-2 pitch to the shortstop side of second base. Josh Harrison made a sliding play, but his throw to first was late and wide.“It was really a good pitch,” Zimmermann said. “It was off the plate and down and he just hit a grounder where they weren’t.”That was the only hit Zimmermann allowed in seven sparkling innings. He struck out four and threw only 70 pitches.“He was in control of the plate, just getting enough of the corners,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He did a really nice job of changing speeds, adjusting and using all of his pitches very well.”Blue Jays rookie manager Charlie Montoyo called Zimmermann’s performance “outstanding.”“He was pitching in and out, keeping our hitters off balance,” Montoyo said.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Zimmermann’s 6 2/3 innings marked the longest bid for a perfect game on opening day since April 16, 1940, when Lefty Grove threw seven perfect innings for the Boston Red Sox against the Washington Senators.“He was in the zone,” Stewart said.Niko Goodrum doubled off Blue Jays right-hander Daniel Hudson (0-1) to begin the 10th, and Stewart homered to right field on an 0-2 pitch.“That one got too much of the plate and he killed it,” Gardenhire said.Victor Alcantara (1-0) pitched one inning for the win and Shane Greene finished for a save as Detroit won its opener for the seventh time in eight seasons.The Blue Jays lost their eighth consecutive home opener — tying the third-longest streak in baseball history. Pittsburgh dropped eight straight from 1994-2001 Corey Kluber Jersey , and the Washington Senators did it from 1963-70.The Brooklyn Dodgers lost a major league-worst 11 straight home openers from 1903-13, and Oakland lost 10 in a row from 2005-14.Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman walked Harrison, the first batter of the game, on four pitches but didn’t allow a hit until a two-out single by Nicholas Castellanos in the sixth. Stroman yielded two hits and walked four in seven scoreless innings.YESTERYEARZimmermann pitched a no-hitter against Miami on Sept. 28, 2014, the first in Nationals history. Outfielder Steven Souza Jr. made a dramatic, diving catch for the final out, retiring Christian Yelich. Souza, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, used his bare hand to squeeze the ball in his mitt as he fell.Feller threw his opening day no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on the same day Grove took a run at that perfect game: April 16, 1940. The Indians won 1-0.MIGGY’S RETURNPlaying for the first time since June 2018 after missing the second half of last season because of a biceps injury, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera went hitless in four at-bats. He struck out once and grounded into a double play.FAN A LOTThree Blue Jays pitchers combined to strike out seven straight Detroit batters in the late innings, a streak that began when Stroman fanned Grayson Greiner for the final out of the seventh. Right-handers Joe Biagini and Ken Giles came on and struck out the side in the eighth and ninth, respectively.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: OF JaCoby Jones (strained left shoulder) is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the season. … RHP Drew Verhagen (right shoulder) is on the 10-day injured list.Blue Jays: Toronto recalled 1B Rowdy Tellez from Triple-A to take the place of DH Kendrys Morales, who was traded to Oakland on Wednesday. … Several Blue Jays began the season on the 10-day injured list, including LHP Ryan Borucki (left elbow), RHP Ryan Tepera (right elbow), RHP Clay Buchholz (right flexor strain) Ricky Vaughn Jersey , RHP David Phelps (elbow surgery) and OF Jonathan Davis (right ankle). OF Dalton Pompey is on the seven-day concussion list. RHP Bud Norris (right forearm) was not healthy in time for opening day. … The Blue Jays selected the contract of RHP Javy Guerra from the minors.UP NEXTTigers: LHP Matthew Boyd went 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA in five spring training starts, striking out 20 batters in 18 innings.Blue Jays: RHP Matt Shoemaker makes his first start with Toronto after signing as a free agent. He had no record and a 5.00 ERA in five spring outings. Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesHere's an interesting question: Did Cole Hamels need the Chicago Cubs or did the Cubs need Hamels?Early in the veteran left-hander's North Side tenure, the answer appears to be a resounding "yes and yes."When the Cubs acquired Hamels from the Texas Rangers before the non-waiver trade deadline, their rotation was in trouble. Yu Darvish, their $126 million man, had an ugly 4.95 ERA and was dealing with triceps and elbow issues that would eventually cost him his season.Neither Jon Lester nor Jose Quintana was pitching like a top-shelf starter. Tyler Chatwood was battling command problems.Overall, Cubs pitchers posted a 4.56 ERA in July.Chicago was hoping Hamels would be the cavalry as it battled for supremacy in the National League Central and aimed for another deep postseason run. But there was no guarantee.Hamels has an ace's resume, with four All-Star appearances and four top-10 Cy Young Award finishes. He owns a 3.48 ERA across 98.1 playoff innings and won a ring with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.Lately, though, he's been less a reliable stud and more of a payroll drag. In 2017, the Rangers paid him $23.5 million, part of a $144 million extension he signed with Philadelphia in 2012. For that lofty sum, Hamels gave Texas a 4.20 ERA and career-low 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings.He turned 34 in December. It was worth wondering if his career was on an irreversible downslope.G Fiume/Getty ImagesThis season with the Rangers, he posted a 4.72 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 114.1 innings. Despite a rough July in which he coughed up 21 earned runs in 17 frames, it was enough to entice the Cubs to send a couple of minor league arms and a player to be named later to Texas in a change-of-scenery swap.So far, Hamels has been a revelation. In six starts with Chicago, he's 4-0 with an 0.69 ERA. The opportunity to pitch for a winner in the heat of a pennant race has brought out his best."To be able to change kind of the mindset, now to go on a first-place team Michael Brantley Jersey , there's something inside of you that sparks when you get in those situations," he told reporters at the time of the trade.Hamels' average fastball has clocked in at 92.7 mph this season, per FanGraphs, a tick above his career mark of 92.3 mph. But he's throwing it just 26.8 percent of the time compared to a career average of 39.2 percent and relying more on hisoff-speed offerings.Here he is authoring a complete game August 23 against the Cincinnati Reds and throwing like a guy you'd gladly hand the ball to under the bright October lights:Most essentially, he's given the Cubs a necessary ingredient to wrest control of the division and getback to the Fall Classic."He has all the credentials," first baseman Anthony Rizzosaid, per ESPN.com's Jesse Rogers. "And he seems like he's having a good time."Hamels has a $20 million team option for next season, with an innings-based $24 million vesting option that he's unlikely to qualify for and a $6 million buyout.The Cubs probably won't pull the trigger at $20 million, but Hamels has pitched well enough to earn a lucrative deal this winter, in Chicago or somewhere else.We're insmall-sampleterritory, admittedly. No one expects Hamels to maintain a sub-1.00 ERA over the long haul. But he's not that far removed from success, either. He was an All-Star who eclipsed 200 innings as recently as 2016.Now, he's turning back the clock.The Cubbies needed him. He needed the Cubbies. Sometimes, these things just work out. Allstatistics currententering Sunday and courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.