30-year Marliniversary: Leiter throws first no-hitter in Marlins history

[Mike Ferguson]

In nearly three and a half decades as a franchise, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had six different pitchers throw a no-hitter. The first came on this day 30 years ago.

Left-hander Al Leiter needed 103 pitches to accomplish the feat at Joe Robbie Stadium on May 11, 1996. Leiter allowed just three baserunners in the Florida Marlins’ 11-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

In the first, Leiter needed just 10 pitches to work a 1-2-3 inning. The next time he took the mound, he had a big lead.

After Jeff Conine drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first to get the scoring started, Terry Pendleton followed with a two-run single. Two pitches later, Charles Johnson’s three-run home run staked Florida to a 6-0 lead.

The biggest threat for Colorado came in the top of the second. Leiter walked Andrés Galarraga to open the inning before hitting Ellis Burks. Leiter, however, bounced back by striking out Vinny Castilla and getting Trenidad Hubbard to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Following a two-run double by Conine in the bottom of the second that pushed the lead to 8-0, the double-play ball was again Leiter’s friend in the third. Leiter walked Jayhawk Owens to open the frame, but got opposing pitcher John Habyan to bunt into a double play two pitches later. The Rockies never had another baserunner.

The rest of the Florida offense came courtesy of Pendleton. The third baseman extended the lead to 9-0 with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth before plating two with a double in the sixth.

As the game went on, Leiter appeared to be getting better. He struck out Galarraga and Dante Bichette on back-to-back 3-2 pitches in the seventh. As the contest went to the ninth, he was three outs away.

Leiter got Owens and Quinton McCracken to each ground out on the first pitch of their at-bats in the ninth. After the count went full on Eric Young, Leiter got the speedy Colorado second baseman to swing through a fastball to complete the no-no and make Marlins history.

While the Rockies were held without a hit, the Marlins had 11. Pendleton and Greg Colbrunn each had three knocks. Pendleton finished with five RBIs while Colbrunn scored three times. Conine and Johnson finished with three RBIs apiece.

The night, however, would belong to Leiter. In what would be his first All-Star season, Leiter threw the first no-hitter in club history. It came on this day three decades ago.

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