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EckersleyCaliforniai■'■ * V ■1; ' :Jf/*! , fi- Jfe A4?Sv «*-lt; *UPITlt;l«pfco1aFREMONT'S DENNIS ECKERSLEY SIGNALS FOR FINAL PITCH [L), THEN JUMPS WITH JUBILATION AFTER STRIKEOUTYoung hurtcr pitchtd second no4*iter of y«ar, a* Indians nipped Angds, VO76ers lead 2-1Portland seeks tie tonightr-.. CLEVELAND (UP!)'- - A little stilion and a large streak o( cockiness Dennis Eckertey pitch the second nohitter of the major league season Monday night.‘'I talked to no ore throughout the game and 1 followed the same routine after every inning/' said Eckersley, Cleveland's fire-balling right-hander who now has hurled 16 2*3 consecutive hitteis innings, bringing back memories of Bob Feller to the Indians’ fans.1 sal in Ihe middle of the dugout. put on my jacket, went to the water fountain and sat back. I Duane) Kuiper started talking to me at one time, but I had to tell him to shut up, smiled Eckersley, a former . resident of Fremont and a Washington High graduate.Kuiper tripled with one out in the first inning and scored the game’s only run on a sacrifice squeeze bunt by Jim Norris as Eckersley outdueled Frank Tanana and the Indians beat the California Angels 10.The Angels had only Iwo • basenmnen against Eckersley, who struck out 12 and never for a moment doubted he could complete the no-hitter that raised his record to5-3.His final out was a strikeout of Gil Flores in the ninth as the crowd of 13,400, small in mammoth Municipal Stadium, screamed approval. II appeared to some of the Fans that Eckersley said something to Flores before he came to hat, and later the pitcher admitted that he had.. Flores was stalling a little in the ninth so I just yelled at him to get up to the plate, Eckersley said. “One more out and you are d/r told him.Eckersley walked Tony Solaita with two lul in the first inning, then retired the next 19 bailers. Bobby Bonds struck lt;nst in the aighth and reached first on a wild pilch third strike, but Don Baylor, followed by hitting ■nto a double play and Eckersley struck out •hree of tl* next four batters.He fanned Bobby Gnch to open the ninth, get pu*b hitter Willie Mays Aikcns on a routine fly to Paul Dade in left, then struck oul F tores to end it.the Texas Rangers. The last by a Cleveland pitcher was by Dick Bosman in 1974 againstthe A‘s. ■ « ,Eckersley said that Joe.Rub. who lives near him iff the San Francisco Bay Area, may have wished him a little tuck in the topof the ninth. , ,HAfter Ray Fosse filed out for the final outin the eighth Inning, Rudi was trotting in andI was already on the wound, Eckereloysaid. He kissed the ball and threw it to me/*Rudi admitted planting a kiss on the balland said, Dennis is a geed kid. He lives inthe Bay Area and I was just kidding aroundHe showed no reaction to my actions, so Ididn't think he even noticed, Kudt said.M1 hate to see a no-hitter thrown against usbut he threw well and deserved it, addedTanana, 8-2, gave up only four hits besides (he triple by Kuiper. lie struck out six and walked one,Counting 7 2-3 hltless innings against the Seattle Mariners in his previous start, Eckersley has not allowed a bit in 16 2-3 innings. The major league record of 23 consecutive hitless innings was set by Cy Young in 1904.With 66 strikeouts in 01 2-3 innings this season, Eckersley is not currently a threat to 1AL strikeout leaders Nolan Ryan and Tanana but in only three seasons be has establised himself as Cleveland's hardesMhrowing right-hander since Feller. Feller, a Hall of Famer, pitched three no-hitters, which was the record until Ryan threw his fourth in , 1975.The only previous no-hitter in the majors this season was pitched May 14 by Jim C.nlhnm of the Kansas City Royals againstEckersley. who signed with the Indians in 1972 for a reported §72.COO bonus as Uie No.3 draft choke in June of that year, threw 117 pitches in I he game.f,ast year, after a outsanding rookie campaign of 13-7 with a 2.60 earned run average, Eckersley got off lo a bad start and was banished to the bullpen at the All Star break. However, he came teek with an excellent second half of II* season, winding up 13-12 while becoming only the eighth pitcher in history to strike ofH 200 batters in a season prior to reaching the age of 22.
Newspaper Details
Argus
Fremont, California, US
Tue, May 31, 1977
Page 4
Full Page
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Elyria P.
OH, USA 06 Aug 2019
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