Mariners' James Paxton Strikes Out 7 En Route to No-Hitter vs. Blue Jays

Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton threw the second no-hitter by a starting pitcher during the 2018 season on Tuesday.

Paxton was so dominant during the 5-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre that he retired the side in the ninth inning on a mere seven pitches. Josh Donaldson's groundout ended the contest after Paxton induced a flyout from Anthony Alford on the first pitch and struck out Teoscar Hernandez in three pitches.  

The southpaw finished with seven strikeouts and was just three walks shy of a perfect game. He and Sean Manaea of the Oakland Athletics are the only starters to tally a no-hitter this season.

As MLB shared, Paxton brought the heat at the end of the game with the no-hitter hanging in the balance:

The Mariners announced Paxton became the fifth player to throw an individual no-hitter in franchise history. The southpaw is only the second Canadian-born player to throw a no-hitter in Major League Baseball history and the first to do so since 1945, according to the Washington Post.

While Paxton cruised on the mound, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Mike Zunino and Mitch Haniger provided more than enough run support. Zunino connected on a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

Tuesday's outing was Paxton's second straight dominant performance, as he didn't allow a run and struck out 16 in seven innings during a May 2 start against the Athletics. He improved his ERA to 3.40 with his no-hitter, and he has helped bolster Seattle's rotation alongside Felix Hernandez this year.

Aside from Manaea's no-hitter, the only other no-no this season came when Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore of the Los Angeles Dodgers combined to blank the San Diego Padres on May 4 during a contest that took place in Mexico.