SEATTLE - The clubhouse celebration that awaited John Means was more than 50 years in the making for the Baltimore Orioles. Maybe that's why it seemed more like a playoff berth being clinched, rather than a Wednesday afternoon win in May against an opponent from another division.
Only a wild pitch in the dirt kept the Orioles from toasting perfection. That's how dominant Means was in throwing Major League Baseball's third no-hitter of the 2021 season in Baltimore's 6-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.
A franchise still in the midst of a rebuild and with little to show for its efforts in recent seasons was happy to put the spotlight on its 6-foot-3 left-hander, who overmatched the Mariners with an array of unhittable fastballs, breaking pitches and a deadly changeup.
No, it wasn't perfection. But it was about as close as it comes.
"I never really thought I'd be here. I'd always write MLB player when I was a kid on the sheet when asked what you wanted to do when you're older, but I never thought it was a reality," said Means, a native of Kansas who turned 28 last month. "And now that it is, and now I'm able to throw this, it's crazy and I don't even know how to describe it."
Means is just 18-15 since making his MLB debut three years ago, but he was an All-Star in 2019 and has been one of the best pitchers in the American League to start this season.
This wasn't a fluke performance. This was domination.
Means (4-0) struck out 12 batters and walked none. Seattle's only baserunner was Sam Haggerty after he raced to first swinging on a curveball in the dirt for strike three with one out in the third inning. The 1-2 pitch bounced away from catcher Pedro Severino and ended up being the only blemish that separated Means from a perfect game.
Haggerty wasn't on base long, getting thrown out attempting to steal second.
"I could care less that it wasn't perfect game," Means said after his first complete game in 44 career MLB starts.
Means is the first pitcher in MLB history to miss perfection despite throwing a no-hitter in which the opposing team did not reach via walk, being hit by pitch or error, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Means threw 79 strikes among 113 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to 26 of 27 batters. When Seattle did make contact against him, it was weak and there were no threats to fall in for a hit.
He lowered his ERA to 1.37 and became the first individual Orioles pitcher to toss a no-hitter since Jim Palmer against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 13, 1969. It was the 10th no-hitter in franchise history, including six as the Baltimore Orioles after four as the St. Louis Browns.
"It's such a crazy feeling. It's such a whirlwind of an experience. I don't think I've been able to process it yet," Means said. "But to be in the same breath as Palmer, I don't think that it gets much better than that."
Palmer won three Cy Young Awards and three World Series titles while spending his entire career with the Orioles. The six-time All-Star's No. 22 was retired by the Orioles, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, the first year he was eligible.
Baltimore's most recent no-hitter before Wednesday came on July 13, 1991, when Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson combined for a 2-0 victory at Oakland.
In a season in which MLB batters are on track to hit a record-low .234, Means joined a no-hit club that includes gems by San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove against the host Texas Rangers on April 9 and by Chicago White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodón against the visiting Cleveland Indians on April 14.
In addition, Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner held the host Atlanta Braves hitless during a seven-inning game as part of a doubleheader on April 25. However, that is not recognized as an official no-hitter by Major League Baseball because the game did not go at least nine innings.
It's the first time since 1969 there have been three no-hitters this early in the season.
"Really can't put into words what the last three outs (meant), seeing how the teammates embraced him," Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. "Our clubhouse after the game, it was like we clinched a playoff spot."
The closest Seattle came to a hit through six innings was J.P. Crawford's short fly ball in the sixth that center fielder Cedric Mullins caught with a slide. Kyle Lewis provided a threat with a drive to left leading off the eighth that Austin Hays caught on the warning track.
In the ninth, Means got a popout from Dylan Moore, struck out Haggerty swinging and induced a soft liner from Crawford to end it, setting off a wild celebration with his teammates on the mound and a standing ovation from the crowd.
"He was good. He was really good," Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager said. "He was in control. I don't think we had hardly any balls that were close to being hits."
Means had never pitched beyond seven innings in the majors.
"When I started the (ninth), I got a little bit of the Jell-O legs, just a little bit, started to kind of feel a little wobbly," he said. "But once I did get that first pitch, I was able to lock in again."
Baltimore's D.J. Stewart and Ramón Urias had third-inning RBI singles against Yusei Kikuchi. Pat Valaika hit a solo homer off Kikuchi (1-2) in the sixth, and Trey Mancini provided a three-run shot off Aaron Fletcher in the eighth, Mancini's sixth homer in a season that marked his return from colon cancer surgery.
"To watch our guys celebrate, that's a cool moment, because this is tough game," Hyde said. "To watch one of your teammates, your brothers do something really special is pretty cool."