Boston Red Sox pitching prospects Wikelman Gonzalez, Brendan Cellucci, and Luis Guerrero combined for a no-hitter in Double-A on Sunday.
Facing off with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the trio of Portland Sea Dogs' pitchers made history.
Wikelman Gonzalez started the game, it being his second Double-A appearance. Gonzalez walked the first two batters of the game. A strikeout and a double play quickly ended the threat, though.
Then Gonzalez started to cruise. The right-handed pitcher was untouchable and racking up the Ks. Gonzalez had two walks hurt him in the sixth inning, leading to a run. However, he didn't allow a hit.
The final line for the Boston Red Sox prospect was six innings, no hits, one run, four walks, and an impressive 10 strikeouts. A combination of his fastball and curveball was doing wonders for him.
Gonzalez started the year on a rough note in High-A, but after the first month was one of the most dominant pitchers in the system. This led to his promotion. Through two starts in Double-A, Gonzalez has allowed just one run on four hits over 12 innings. He's struck out 19 batters and walked five.
Next came Brendan Cellucci. The left-handed reliever tossed two hitless innings, allowing just one walk and striking out one batter. He cruised, needing just 23 pitches.
Cellucci has had a tough year when you look at the numbers, but he's having a phenomenal month of July. The Tulane product hasn't allowed a run over 10 innings this month, and that now includes being part of a no-hitter.
Finally, Luis Guerrero closed out the game. The right-handed closer did allow a run on two walks (and one K) but didn't allow a hit.
Guerrero has been the best reliever in Portland all season long. He was part of the Future's Game, and boasts a 1.54 ERA on the season.
The Portland Sea Dogs now have 2 no-hitters this year
The trio combined for the second no-hitter of the season for the Portland Sea Dogs (CJ Liu tossed a seven-inning no-no on May 5).
There's one more person that needs to get some love, though. Elih Marrero was the catcher for this game. Marrero is having a solid season with the bat (.253/.404/.316). But the switch-hitter is known much more for his defensive ability.
An athlete behind the plate with a good arm, it's always fun to watch Marrero catch. It seems like pitchers love to work with him, and this is another thing you can point to when talking about his defense.
This isn't the only thing you can point to, however. Marrero caught Brayan Bello's no-hitter last season. Do we see a trend?
Pitchers deserve a heavy majority of the credit when talking about no-hitters. But catchers play a big role as well. With that in mind, a massive congratulations to Wikelman Gonzalez, Brendan Cellucci, Luis Guerrero, and Elih Marrero on making history.