There hasn't been much to cheer for in Phoenix this season, but rookie southpaw Tyler Gilbert gave the fans that arrived at Chase Stadium plenty to be excited for on Saturday.
Making his first MLB start, Gilbert made history with the league's eighth no-hitter of the season — the most in the modern era — and became only the second player in the modern era to throw a no-no in his first start, joining St. Louis Browns' starter Bobo Holloman, who threw the no-hitter on May 6, 1953.
"Crazy. It's not going to hit me for probably another day," Gilbert said on the Bally Sports Arizona broadcast after the game. "I don't know what just happened. That was crazy."
Twice during the day it seemed the league's record could be broken as the Phillies had a combined no-hitter through seven against the Reds and the Mets' Taijuan Walker had six no-hit innings against the Dodgers. But it was the 27-year-old southpaw who set the historic mark, breaking the previous record of seven set in 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 dating back to 1900.
MORE: Most recent no-hitter for all 30 MLB teams
Here's all you need to know about the history-making starter.
First career MLB start
Gilbert didn't reach the majors until Aug. 3, 2021, when he pitched a scoreless, hitless inning with two strikeouts coming out of the bullpen.
“It was surreal,” Gilbert said, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “I still can’t believe it. It went about as good as possible.”
His first start might have also been about as good as possible. Only four pitchers ever have thrown a no-hitter in their first career MLB start, and Holloman is the only one to do it since the start of the 1900s.
Gilbert's start wasn't entirely perfect as he did walk three batters and only struck out five, but he was efficient with his pitches as finished the night having thrown only 102 pitches — 64 for strikes. The Padres certainly helped late in the game when in the eighth inning, catcher Austin Nola, first baseman Eric Hosmer and right fielder Wil Myers went down on three pitches for a quick frame.
And the Diamondbacks left no doubt about the win as it jumped all over Padres starter Joe Musgrove for five runs in the first inning and won 7-0 against the Padres. Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter of the season back on April 9 against the Rangers.
Second chance in Arizona
Gilbert was drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Phillies, but did not last long in the minors as a starter.
He made eight of his 10 appearances in 2015 and all 23 of his appearances in 2016 starting, but he started just once in 35 games in 2017 and did not make a start again through the rest of his time in the Phillies organization. He found success pitching out of the bullpen as he never had an ERA reach the 4.00 range. In 2019, his second season at Triple-A, he pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 47.2 innings over 36 appearances.
With no Minor League season in 2020, Gilbert's career briefly stalled. He was ultimately claimed by the Diamondbacks in the Triple-A phase of MLB's Rule 5 draft following the season. Arizona returned him to the rotation where he made 10 of his 11 appearances, pitching to a 3.44 ERA at Triple-A Reno.
Gilbert was promoted to the majors for the first time in August and had continued to find success as he didn't allow a run over 32 innings in relief. He struck out five batters and walked two while allowing just one unearned run on two hits.
Long-time California pitcher
It wasn't long ago that the best place to watch Gilbert was in California. And as he progressed through the minors, he kept getting closer and closer to SoCal.
Gilbert went to high school at San Lorenzo Valley before he went to Santa Barbara City College for two seasons. There, he made 27 starts in two seasons and compiled 145 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA in 168 innings. He gave up only 145 hits and walked just 38 in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
The success he found allowed him to continue to travel farther south to USC when he transferred there for 2015. In his lone season with the Trojans, he made six starts in 22 games total, pitching to a 2.79 ERA with 66 strikeouts and a .265 opponents' batting average in 67.2 innings of work.