Lugnuts trio tosses franchise's fourth no-hitter

LANSING, Mich. – Jake Garland, Grant Judkins and Colton Johnson combined to throw the fourth no-hitter in Lansing Lugnuts (31-29) franchise history, silencing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (34-25), 8-0, on Thursday night at Jackson® Field™.

The Kernels had piled up 20 hits in the series opener, a 15-7 win, and 13 hits in the second game, a 7-3 victory.

But in the third game of the six-game series, they found only three walks and an HBP, stymied for five innings by Garland, who whiffed six; 2 2/3 innings by Judkins, who fanned three; and the final 1 1/3 in perfect fashion by Johnson, who struck out two, firing a 95-mph fastball past Kernels standout Rubel Cespedes to finish things with a flourish.

It was the Nuts’ second ever no-hitter at home.

The Lugnuts’ prior no-nos:
- April 21, 2003, a 15-0 home rout of Dayton behind a combined effort from Justin Jones, Westin O’Brien and Mark Carter
- July 14, 2016, a 1-0 seven-inning loss at Peoria in Game 2 of a doubleheader, with Jordan Romano and Josh DeGraaf combining to work six innings of hitless ball
- September 4, 2022, a 2-1 victory at eventual league champion South Bend, behind Jorge Juan, Jack Owen, Shohei Tomioka and Osvaldo Berrios

With Owen watching from the Lansing pen on this night, the Lugnuts’ offense made sure things were more comfortable.
Danny Bautista, Jr. broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a two-run homer off Jarret Whorff, and Luke Mann added a two-run double three batters later off Rafael Marcano.

In the sixth inning, Bautista, Jr. lined a two-run double down the right field line off Marcano.

And in the seventh, Cameron Masterman applied the finishing touches with a two-run homer to right-center off Sheldon Reed.

Masterman finished 3-for-4, and Bautista, Jr., joined Jonny Butler and Will Simpson in notching a pair of hits, part of a combined 13-hit output.

Athletics prospect Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang starts the fourth game of the six-game series, Youth Sports Night and Peanuts Night featuring a Jordan Diaz Bobblehead giveaway presented by Jackson National, followed by LAFCU Fireworks. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. For tickets and further information, visit milb.com/lansing or call (517) 485-4500.

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