Baseball has its first no-hitter in over a year.

Saturday afternoon Marlins righty Edinson Volquez no-hit the Diamondbacks at Marlins Park (MIA 3, ARI 0). It is baseball's first no-no since Jake Arrieta no-hit the Reds last April. Volquez finished the game emphatically. He struck out the side in the ninth.

What stood out about Volquez's no-hit bit -- aside from the lack of hits, of course -- was his pitch efficiency, something he hasn't exactly been known for throughout his career. Volquez completed the no-hitter with only 98 pitches. He's only the 13th pitcher in history to throw a no-hitter with fewer than 100 pitches. Here are the previous 12:

Volquez allowed only two baserunners in Saturday's game. He walked Jake Lamb in the fifth inning and walked Chris Herrmann in the eighth inning. Both Lamb and Herrmann were later erased on double plays, so Volquez faced the minimum 27 batters.

Here is Volquez's pitch count by inning during the no-hitter:

  • 1st inning: 13 pitches (8 strikes)
  • 2nd inning: 9 pitches (5 strikes)
  • 3rd inning: 8 pitches (7 strikes)
  • 4th inning: 11 pitches (7 strikes)
  • 5th inning: 16 pitches (8 strikes)
  • 6th inning: 5 pitches (5 strikes)
  • 7th inning: 13 pitches (9 strikes)
  • 8th inning: 11 pitches (5 strikes)
  • 9th inning: 12 pitches (10 strikes)

Only once did Volquez threw more than 13 pitches in an inning, which is remarkable. Coming into the game his season average was 16.7 pitches per inning, which ranked 60th among the 91 pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.

Volquez has been in the big leagues for a long time now. Parts of 13 seasons, in fact. Saturday's game was his 263rd regular season start and only his fourth complete game. Starters don't complete as many games as they used to these days, but still, wow. It had been a long time since a Marlin threw a complete game as well.

Volquez has previously thrown a one-hitter in his career prior to Saturday's no-hitter. He one-hit the 107-loss Astros in July 2012. Volquez threw 117 pitches in that game.

Weirdly enough, the D-Backs have now been no-hit three times in franchise history, including twice by the Marlins. Anibal Sanchez got them in 2006. The Marlins, on the other hand, now have six no-hitters since joining the league in 1993. No other team has more in that time.