Prevented History

Don Larsen and the late Roy Halladay remain the only two pitchers ever to have thrown a post-season no hitter thanks to Jose Martinez. Facing Anibal Sanchez of the Nationals with two outs and no one on in the last of the 8th, he delivered a line drive single to center, snapping Sanchez's bid to join that exclusive circle. Reliever Sean Doolittle took over, nailing the down the final four outs and the save as Washington blanked the Cardinals 2 - 0 in the opening game of the NLCS.

Maybe you're wondering why I'm displaying Martinez and not Sanchez in this post. The answer's simple. Through 14 seasons and more than 300 starts, I've never snapped a photo of Sanchez. I keep missing him. Matching the great data from baseball-reference.com with my photo archive, I noticed that I have seen his teams a day or two before, or after, he takes the mound. Whether it's from his time with the Marlins, Tigers, Braves or now the Nationals, Sanchez has proven to be among the most elusive players in the big leagues.

For 2020, I'll make a note to be sure to catch a Sanchez start against the Mets. It's the kind of personal streak, this photo maven needs to end.

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