Outside The Confines: Padres make no-hitter history

There’s a bit of a popular narrative these days (and if a rare Pirates fan has stumbled over here, please avert your eyes and go right to the links), but people love to point out that Pirates pitchers go on to achieve great things when they leave the club.

It’s hard to say they’re wrong if you look at the post-Pirates careers of Gerrit Cole, Tyler Glasnow, Charlie Morton, and now Joe Musgrove. Musgrove made history on Friday night, as he pitched a no-hitter: the first in San Diego Padres history.

And behind the plate for Musgrove was a familiar face to Cubs fans in Victor Caratini. Carantini was the catcher for Alec Mills’ September 13, 2020 no-hitter, which means he has caught both of MLB’s most recent no-hitters.

It was a great moment for Musgrove and Caratini, as well as the entire Padres organization. It also now means that there are no longer any MLB teams without a no-hitter in their history.

• Chris Halicke looks at the historical no-no for Sports Illustrated.
• Dennis Lin looks at the giant sigh of relief breathed by San Diego after Musgrove’s incredible accomplishment. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Our own Sara Sanchez had her debut at FanGraphs this week discussing former Cub Nick Castellanos and his hot start.
• In bad news for another former Cub, Michael Shapiro shares that Dexter Fowler will miss the rest of the 2021 season with a torn ACL.
• It might be fun to chuckle about Trevor Bauer being singled out by MLB to investigate game balls, but as Grant Brisbee points out, the fallout could be very real for every other team in baseball. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Justin Choi breaks down the new baseball and how it is shaping the season in early days.
• Speaking of that new ball, according to Robert Arthur it’s making spin rates higher than ever. (Baseball Prospectus Premium required.)
• The Dodgers are meant to be unstoppable in the NL, but ESPN suggests five teams who could potentially make them, well, stoppable.
• Sorry, who? Poor Brent, even his home team’s broadcast icons mixed up his name.

• Speaking of Brent Honeywell Jr., Adam Berry looks at the incredible and challenging journey that led to his Sunday debut.
• With a strong showing against the Tigers last week, I did a retrospective over at FanGraphs of the slugger’s history against the Motown club.
• Bill Nowlin does a deep dive into the experience of major league umpires last season.
• Unable to buy the Mets, it looks like Alex Rodriguez’s next conquest might be the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, writes Jon Krawcyznski. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Buster Olney shares a letter to Freddie Freeman’s mother, who passed when the slugger was only 10. Get some tissues ready.
• Adam McCalvy brings us one of the most truly bizarre ground rule doubles I’ve ever seen.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. is electric, and he wants to learn from the best.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.