Florida Marlins’ rookie pitcher, Anibal Sanchez, pitched a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up four walks and striking out six hitters.  While, it may not match the enormity of the Majors’ last no-no - Randy Johnson’s perfect game on May 18, 2004 against the Atlanta Braves while Johnson was with the Arizona Diamondbacks (karma’s a biznitch, ain’t it?), the impressive thing about Sanchez’ no-hitter is that he is only the 19th rookie pitcher to throw one… since 1900!  More impressive is the fact that this was only Sanchez’s 13th career start.

The win for the Marlins brings them within 2.5 games of the National League Wild Card with a record of 70-69, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for second and trailing the San Diego Padres.  It cannot be understated how great of a job manager Joe Girardi has done with his young players, particularly his pitching staff.

Sanchez is part of a promising corp of hurlers that includes Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen, and Ricky Nolasco.  Considering the amount of pitcher-friendly parks in the N.L. East (the Philadelphia Phillies’ PNC Bank Park being the exception), the Marlins could be contenders for the N.L. East division for some time because of their pitching.  Hey, it’s worked for the Atlanta Braves for how many seasons in row?

This no-hitter by one of their young pitchers could be a catalyst to the Marlins making the playoffs.  It’s no guarantee, but don’t think for one minute that this historical moment won’t be big for the youngsters’ spirits and belief.  This could be the young Marlins team’s turning point.  To borrow from a division rival’s historic saying that drove them all the way to a World Series championship – You Gotta Believe.

There’s no bigger believers right now than a bunch of kids in South Florida.