Why was a closer on the mound trying to preserve a no-hitter? Well, for as well as Anibal Sanchez pitched, he wasn't efficient enough to hang around for the whole game. In fact, he lasted just six innings. He struck out 12, walked six and threw 116 pitches.
Credit Detroit manager Jim Leyland for realizing the no-hitter wasn't important. Sanchez survived a highly stressful sixth inning; he struck out Stephen Drew to escape a jam after walking the bases loaded. With the lead at just one run, Leyland would have been pushing his luck to send Sanchez back out for the seventh. He didn't, instead using four relievers to close out the win.
The Tigers failed in their quest to throw the third no-hitter in MLB postseason history (Don Larsen, Roy Halladay), but Sanchez's outing was notable in a couple other ways. First, he became the first pitcher ever to be removed from a playoff game after going six innings without giving up a hit. Secondly, he became only the second pitcher ever to record both 12 strikeouts and six walks in a postseason game.
The other one? Walter Johnson in Game 1 of the 1924 World Seriess. In that game, Johnson pitched 12 innings and gave up 14 hits. Yeah, that was a different time and place. That goes to show you don't see an outing like the one Sanchez had Saturday night come along too often.
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