“He was pretty relentless,” Detroit Manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m really proud of him. He’s worked really hard and deserves every bit of tonight.”
Turnbull leaned on a fastball in the mid-90s and a biting slider to keep Seattle’s batters guessing. He also got a great defensive play from third baseman Jeimer Candelario in the seventh inning to rob Mitch Haniger of a possible hit, and then struck out Haniger in the ninth to end it.
“Probably three of the best pitches I made all night,” Turnbull said.
Turnbull (3-2) fanned nine and walked two. He issued a free pass to Jose Marmolejos leading off the ninth when a full-count curveball missed wide, just the second base runner for Seattle. Turnbull struck out Sam Haggerty for the first out and got Jarred Kelenic to ground into a fielder’s choice for the second.
Haniger, who came closest to a hit for the Mariners earlier in the game, went down swinging on a 95 mile-per-hour fastball for the final out. Turnbull screamed in joy and was engulfed in a hug from catcher Eric Haase before being overrun by teammates.
“He delivered some pretty good 3-2 breaking balls,” Hinch said. “He kept kind of answering the challenge.”
Turnbull didn’t make his season debut until April 21 because he contracted Covid-19 and missed a couple of weeks. But he joined a no-hitter list for 2021 that already included San Diego right-hander Joe Musgrove at Texas on April 9, Chicago White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon against Cleveland on April 14, Baltimore’s John Means in Seattle on May 5 and Cincinnati lefty Wade Miley against Cleveland on May 7.
In addition, Arizona left-hander Madison Bumgarner pitched seven hitless innings in a complete game during a doubleheader against Atlanta on April 25, but that is not recognized as an official no-hitter by Major League Baseball because the game did not go at least nine innings — it was shortened under pandemic rules in effect for a second straight season.