Rich Harden asked Ron Washington to start Matt Treanor at catcher Monday. The pair had a good outing at AAA earlier this week when both players were on rehab assignments.
As the battery for the Rangers on Monday, the two clicked and delivered a sparkling performance that gave the team an opportunity to achieve something that has only happened nine times in team history and hasn’t been witnessed in seven years in Major League Baseball: a combined no-hiter.
Harden went to too many full counts but always seemed to execute the shutdown pitch. The crowd booed as Washington came to the mound at the 6 2/3 inning mark, but Harden’s long at-bats, five walks and 111 pitches prevented him from going all the way in the game. Matt Harrison and Darren O’Day pitched hitless ball in relief of Harden, who still needs to prove he can deliver consistently.
The no-hitter disappeared when three-time batting champion Joe Mauer singled just beyond a diving Elvis Andrus with one out in the ninth off closer Neftali Feliz.
New owner and team president Nolan Ryan knows how that feels.
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