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Farrell, German spin no-hitter

2-0 blanking of Hudson Valley is first gem in Lowell history
August 13, 2006
Jeff Farrell and Yulkin German were on the winning side of a no-hitter for a change.

Farrell and German combined on the first no-hitter in Lowell Spinners' history on Sunday, a 2-0 blanking of the Hudson Valley Renegades at Dutchess Stadium.

A 23-year-old left-hander who had not won since July 15, Farrell struck out two, walked one and hit a batter over five-plus innings. German (4-1) struck out four and also hit a batter over the final four frames.

Farrell issued a leadoff walk in the sixth before German struck out Jairo de la Rosa and plunked John Matulia. The 22-year-old southpaw set down the final 11 batters and was mobbed on the mound after fanning Maiko Loyola for the final out.

On separate occasions, both pitchers had been on teams that watched those celebrations. Farrell attended Southern Connecticut State University, which was no-hit by Franklin Pierce College; German's team in the Dominican Summer League was stifled a few years ago.

According to Spinners manager Bruce Crabbe, Farrell was hesitant to pitch Sunday because he would miss his sister's wedding. He did have some family members in attendance as he made history, though.

"He's been pitching a lot better for us his last few starts," the skipper said of Farrell, who was 1-5 in nine games before Sunday's contest.

"He had gotten to a pitch count that we were happy with," Crabbe explained, adding that he wanted to remove the pitcher while in the midst of a positive performance.

The contest was the second no-hitter in the Minor Leagues on Sunday as Lakewood's Carlos Carrasco and Andrew Barb combined on another against Lexington in the Class A South Atlantic League.

Robert Ray and Adrian Martin of the Auburn Doubledays combined on the New York-Penn League's last no-hitter on Aug. 26, 2005, against the Batavia Muckdogs.

Luis Exposito hit an RBI single and Jeff Vincent drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh to provide the run support for the Spinners (26-26).

German, described by Crabbe as one of the league's best southpaws, explained through an interpreter that he was able to relax once his team took the lead.

Exposito had two of Lowell's four hits, also doubling in the third. Junior Moreno and Zak Farkes singled in the fifth and seventh, respectively.

"It all goes to the players," said Crabbe.

Hudson Valley reliever Celso Rondon (0-1) surrendered two unearned runs on two hits with a strikeout and a pair of walks in the seventh.

The Renegades (23-29) have lost five consecutive games and were shut out for the fifth time this season.

Marissa Rega is a contributor to MLB.com.