SAN FRANCISCO ? Jonathan Sanchez pretty much pulled an all-nighter. A subdued and pleasant one to say the least.
Sanchez and his father, Sigfredo, were up until the wee hours watching highlights and reflecting on the San Francisco left-hander?s improbable no-hitter.
?I went to bed like at 4 in the morning,? Sanchez said with a smile Saturday. ?I got a lot of calls, a lot of messages, text messages. They?re still going on.?
Through the frustrations of his struggles and a demotion to the bullpen, Sanchez remained steadfast he could be an effective major league pitcher.
His standard phrase: ?I just want to pitch.? He never wavered, never complained about his fortunes.
The quiet left-hander showed everybody when he no-hit the San Diego Padres, the first no-no by the Giants in nearly 33 years.
What made it even more special for Sanchez was that his dad just happened to have flown in from Puerto Rico to watch his son start for the first time. What a night he chose.
Sanchez was nearly perfect. Third baseman Juan Uribe booted Chase Headley?s grounder with one out in the eighth inning for San Diego?s lone baserunner.
?I told him, ?I want to make a play,? Uribe said Saturday of his conversations with Sanchez. ?He?s happy. It?s a new day. I can change. I?m going to make the play today.?
A day later Sanchez showed up sporting a mohawk-like ?do ? he promised to do it if he pitched his first career complete game ? and still basking in his milestone achievement. His dad sported a new Giants jacket for the cool Bay Area summer night and was waiting for Randy Johnson to sign a card for him.
?Sanchez!? fans hollered from around the Giants? dugout when he emerged for pregame drills.
?Those kind of things bring teams together,? said pitching coach Dave Righetti, who tossed a no-hitter of his own for the New York Yankees on July 4, 1983. ?It really bonds them in a way and makes you think that there?s something good that?s going to happen to a ballclub.?
It wasn?t until the final batter ? Everth Cabrera ? stepped in that Sanchez really allowed himself to think about what was suddenly right within his grasp. Cabrera watched a called third strike sail by, a curveball he briefly argued as the celebration began. That was Sanchez?s career-best 11th strikeout.
?When the inning started, I said, ?Just keep making your pitches,? he recalled. ?I saw the crowd up and said, ?Now I?ve got to get this. I can have it.?
It was the Giants? 13th no-hitter and first since John Montefusco did it on Sept. 29, 1976, at Atlanta. Their last one in San Francisco came when Ed Halicki no-hit the New York Mets in the second game of a doubleheader on Aug. 24, 1975.
?It?s awesome. I can?t believe I just threw a no-hitter out there,? Sanchez said. ?I?ve been struggling the whole year. I just worked on my stuff and it was right tonight. Hopefully next start it will get better.?
He almost lost his no-hit bid in the ninth, but Gold Glove center fielder Aaron Rowand saved the day with a leaping grab at the center-field fence to rob pinch-hitter Edgar Gonzalez for the second out.
?That was awesome to be part of. It was truly amazing,? Rowand said Saturday. ?I feel very lucky to have been part of it. Those kind of things don?t come around very often. To be on the field and contribute was amazing. It?s a night I?ll never forget, having a front-row seat and seeing what he was doing.
?It was all him, a one-man show.?
The 26-year-old Sanchez (3-8) was a most unlikely candidate to make history. Now, his gem is the latest great accomplishment for a franchise filled with them ? Barry Bonds? home run records, Johnson?s 300th win last month and all the milestones by a whole cast of Hall of Famers including Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry.
But who would ever have predicted this a night after Tim Lincecum carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning? Not Sanchez, not the third southpaw on a pitching staff featuring three former Cy Young Award winners in five-time winner Johnson, reigning NL recipient Lincecum and Barry Zito, the 2002 AL selection while across the bay with the Oakland Athletics.
In fact, Sanchez only got the call in place of the 45-year-old Big Unit, a 303-game winner who went on the disabled list Monday with a strained throwing shoulder. It?s been Johnson who has helped mentor Sanchez during his tough times and the Big Unit has been impressed with Sanchez?s stuff all along.
Sanchez had been mired in a five-start winless stretch since beating Atlanta on May 25. He used a nearly three-week stint in the bullpen to work on his pitches ? and there?s no arguing he?s back on track.
?He?s a version of a little bit what I went through,? Righetti said. ?I was kind of a wild-throwing lefty, too, so I knew what he was going through. And I also knew he was capable of being a better pitcher, so maybe it?s a little more personal.
?He knew he was being showcased a little bit. ?Randy got hurt ... I don?t want them picking out guys down in the minor leagues.?
I bet he had a lot of inner fire yesterday.?
Sanchez?s dad was a nervous wreck, acknowledging he bit his nails and bounced up and down before rushing down for a long embrace once this one was in the books.
?He was here for a reason,? Sanchez said.
His father nearly skipped making the trip, telling his son it was awfully expensive.
?I?m super proud,? his dad said. ?When he was a young kid, his nickname was Randy Johnson because he had long hair.?
Johnson was among those quick to reach Sanchez with a celebratory hug. Catcher Bengie Molina missed it after his wife went into labor Friday and then gave birth Saturday, giving backup Eli Whiteside a special place in history.
?That?s an unbelievable feeling,? Whiteside said. ?I caught two in the minor leagues, but nothing like that.?
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