Rangers History Today: Avoiding A No-Hitter

On this date in Texas Rangers history, Domingo Cedeno saved the Rangers from being no-hit as they fell to the Detroit Tigers.

On September 9, 1997, the Rangers were stumbling toward a losing season after winning the American League West crown just one year prior. The Rangers were on the road at old Tiger Stadium, with Rangers starter Rick Helling facing Tigers starter Scott Sanders.

While the Rangers lost, 4-0, Helling had a solid evening, going more than seven innings, giving up six hits and four runs.

But Sanders nearly ended up with the highlight of his career. Sitting on a 4-12 record going into the game, he went the distance, giving up just one hit, while striking out eight and walking one.

Domingo Cedeño was the Ranger who kept Sanders from reaching history.

Cedeño played seven seasons in the Majors, and oddly 1997 was his most productive season in the big leagues, as he set a career high with 365 at-bats. He hit .282 that season — also a career high — and hit .252 for his career, which ended in 1999 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

As for Sanders, a no-hitter certainly would have been the highlight of a seven-year MLB career that saw him go 34-45 with a 4.86 ERA.

That season, there were just two no-hitters in the Majors. One was authored by a former Ranger, Kevin Brown, who tossed one on June 10 as a Florida Marlin against the San Francisco Giants. The other, on July 12, was a combined, extra-inning no-hitter tossed by Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon, as the Pirates beat the Houston Astros.

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