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Nationals Get Their First No-Hitter; Derek Jeter Plays Final Game

Alex Brandon
/
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The final day of Major League Baseball's regular season has been one for the record books.

Jordan Zimmermann, up against the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon, became the first Washington National to pitch a no-hitter. As ESPN notes, "no major leaguer had thrown a no-hitter in Washington since Bobby Burke did it for the Senators in 1931 against Boston."

On the 104th pitch, Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich hit the ball deep to left-center field. Zimmermann thought his no-hitter was gone.

But in dramatic fashion, Steven Souza Jr., a little-used rookie, made the diving catch. Souza had come into the game as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning.

When asked what he thought when the ball left Yelich's bat, Zimmermann said he believed it was "a double. No-doubt double. And he [Souza] comes out of nowhere and makes that catch, so I guess whatever he wants, he can have. I'll buy him anything."

Zimmermann's record-setting game on Sunday gave the NL East Champion Nationals a 1-0 victory over the Marlins.

Derk Jeter's 20-Year Career Ends

In other baseball news, New York Yankee Derek Jeter played his final game Sunday at Boston's Fenway Park.

A pre-game ceremony honored the Yankees captain, and the crowd gave him numerous standing ovations.

In his final at-bat, Jeter hit an RBI-single. He left the game in the third inning for a pinch runner. It was his 3,465th career hit, and he ended with a batting average of .310.

The Yankees beat the Red Sox 9-5.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Doreen McCallister