San Francisco Giants: 15 Greatest Moments at AT&T Park

13. Jonathan Sanchez Throws a No-Hitter

In 2008, Tim Lincecum ended a 39-year franchise drought by winning the Cy Young award. The next year, it was lefty Jonathan Sanchez who threw the first Giants’ no-hitter since John Montefusco in 1976. It was also the first no-hitter thrown in AT&T Park. Had it not been for an 8th inning error by Juan Uribe, this would have been a perfect game as well.

What made this night even more special was that Sanchez’s father was in attendance to see his son pitch in the Major Leagues for the first time. It seemed like fate, and July 10th, 2009 was a beautiful night in San Francisco.

Sanchez had excellent movement on his pitches and threw a variety of pitches that could make hitters miss. Sanchez began his career in the bullpen during the 2006 season where he flourished as a fireballer who didn’t need to rely on location and could just throw the ball past hitters with all his force.

Ever since his promotion to the starting rotation in 2008, however, Sanchez could never find a consistent delivery on the mound that he could repeat 100 times or more per start. Since he also was counted on to pitch more innings, Sanchez could not put the same intensity into his pitches as he could in the bullpen, because his pitch count became an issue.

But the talent was always there, and the Giants were fortunate enough to benefit from his best performances, from his no-hitter in 2009 to the best stretch of his career at the end of the 2010 season

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