Yankees prospect Brian Keller threw a seven-inning no-hitter on Thursday for Double-A Trenton, marking the second no-hitter of the Thunder's season and the sixth in the franchise's history.
Keller needed only 70 pitches to breeze through the first half of the scheduled doubleheader and allowed just one baserunner, a walk in the top of the second. The 25-year-old struck out six batters including Altoona's Logan Hill to end the game in the seventh.
Keller joined the Yankees as a 39th-round pick out of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 2016 Draft, but he's outperformed his Draft round at each stop along the way and has improved his numbers in his second season with Double-A Trenton in 2019. Thursday's no-hitter lowered Keller's ERA to 2.32 over seven starts -- he began the year on the injured list and debuted in June -- and he owns a career ERA of 2.94 in the Minor Leagues.
Earlier this season, the Thunder pitched a combined no-hitter led by No. 1 prospect Deivi Garcia, who was followed by Domingo Acevedo and Daniel Alvarez out of the bullpen. Justus Sheffield, now the No. 9 prospect with the Mariners, started a no-hitter of his own in 2017 combined with Taylor Widener. The last individual no-hitters for the Thunder were thrown by Brett Smith in 2007 -- a five-inning game -- and Tyler Clippard in 2006.