Perhaps most impressively, Nolasco struck out nine straight batters. With one more strike out, he would have tied Tom Seaver for the most consecutive strikeouts in a game.

With Nolasco fanning batters left and right, the Marlins were able to beat the Braves by a final count of 5-4. It was a costly lost for the Braves, who lost their second straight game and now trail the Colorado Rockies by four games in the NL Wild Card race.

Coming into the season, there were whispers that Nolasco could be in the NL Cy Young Award talk — but that hasn’t been the case. Even after Wednesday’s performance, he’s now 13-9 on the season with a 5.06 ERA.

Ricky Nolasco - Florida Marlins (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Ricky Nolasco Strikes Out 16 Batters

Before getting hurt last season, Hudson had a record of 11-7 to go with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. It was his fourth season with the Braves after playing with the Oakland Athletics for the first six years of his big league career.

To make room in the starting rotation, the Braves will sit Kenshin Kawakami. Although the rookie from Japan is having a solid season, the Braves didn’t have much choice. The rest of the starting rotation — Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe and Tommy Hanson — are simply too good to sit at this moment.

At 67-60, Atlanta is currently 7 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. In the NL Wild Card race, the Braves trail the Colorado Rockies by 4.5 games.

Tim Hudson - Atlanta Braves (Image: Zuma Press)

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Tim Hudson to Return for the Braves

On the season, Fox has pitched only one-third of an inning and has given up five earned runs on two hits and three walks. The result is a staggering 135.00 ERA.

Over 219 games in his career, the 38-year-old reliever has pitched 228 innings and has 262 strikeouts with a 3.79 ERA. However, he hasn’t pitched at least 40 innings in a season since 2004. In fact, he didn’t pitch at all in 2006 or 2007.

In total, he pitched more than 40 innings only three times — in 1998 and 2001 with the Milwaukee Brewers and in 2003 while splitting time between the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins. His best season came in 2001 when he pitched a career-high 66.2 innings, a career-high 80 strikeouts, a career-high five wins and a career-low 1.89 ERA.

Fox is scheduled to get his elbow checked out be specialists but sources close to the team speculate that he may not want to go through another long rehab process that may affect his quality of life after baseball.

Chicago Cubs Logo (Image: Flickr)

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Cubs’ Chad Fox Career Likely Over

Dontrelle Willis to return from anxiety disorder (Image: Newscom)

Willis’ return date is Wednesday, May 13th against the Minnesota Twins. In his last game in the minors, he pitched 7.2 innings and give up two runs and four walks while striking out four.

Once upon a time, Willis was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball. In 2005, he was 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA while with the Florida Marlins. However, since that point, he has gotten progressively worse.

In 2006, Willis was 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA. In 2007, he finished 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA. He bottomed out in 2008 while with the Tigers, posting a 9.38 ERA in seven starts.

If Willis doesn’t reverse his current trend, he could be running out of chances in baseball. The good news for Willis is that he’s still only 27 years old and his velocity in the minor leagues was said to be improved.

Detroit can definitely use his help. With a record of 14-13, the Tigers are three games behind the division-leading Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. If Willis can return and prove to be a capable starter once again, he could be a difference-maker within the division.

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Dontrelle Willis Anxiety Disorder – Return

After throwing seven no-hit innings, Dan Meyer and Leo Nunez both pitched one inning to finish off the no-hitter and wrap up a 2-0 victory. In his seven innings, Nolasco only had one walk while striking out eight batters.

At the plate, the Marlins scored their two runs courtesy of a Brett Carroll RBI in the sixth inning and a John Raynor solo shot in the seventh. With the win, Florida improved their spring training record to 9-11. Detroit fell to 8-12 with the loss.

Last season, the 26-year-old Nolasco had a breakout season for the Marlins. In 32 starts, he had a record of 15-8 with an ERA of 3.52. Heading into the 2009 campaign, Florida needs a stellar season out of Nolasco if they want to make noise in the National League.

Ricky Nolasco No-Hitter (Image: Newscom)

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Nolasco Tosses Spring Training No-Hitter

Ryan Church and David Wright each homered, Carlos Beltran had three doubles and the New York Mets pounded out 17 hits in a 13-0 rout of the Florida Marlins.

To be fair, this is one of those years where they’re not good. That’s what makes the World Series win in 2010 so much more remarkable.

Post from: EveryJoe

Way To Go Marlins

Boosted by his new deal with the New York Yankees, A-Rod tops the major league baseball salary list at $28 million, according to a study of contract terms by The Associated Press. The 33 players on the Marlins’ opening-day roster and disabled list total $21.8 million.

The Marlins also don’t have a single player making league average. This clinches it. The Florida Marlins are the best run franchise in the entirety of sports. Perhaps old-school baseball fans disdain them. They don’t hold on to their recognizable names. Their line-up shifts drastically from season to season. They’re rarely competing for the division. But, damnit, when they compete, they win championships. They are the sporting manifestation of buy-low and sell-high. Many point to the downside of their recent Miguel Cabrera trade. Sure, they traded away one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. But in return, they got the crown jewels of the Tiger’s farm system: Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. These were the two most highly regarded prospects in the system that recently produced Justin Verlander and Curtis Granderson. I’m inclined to believe that it’ll work out like the Beckett trade did with Hanley Ramirez. Oakland has built an entire baseball cult-of-personality based on the fact that they’re contenders with a low payroll, though the Marlins have actually won championships. There should be teams trying to copy the Marlins plan of attack. And yet, there isn’t. They’re ignored by their own potential fans and treated as a joke throughout the rest of baseball. No more. I say to you, the Marlins are the best franchise in baseball, and will most likely be World Series champs in 2010.

Post from: EveryJoe

Florida Marlins < Alex Rodriguez