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Monday night the Tampa Bay Ray's Matt Garza no hit the Detroit Tigers for the fifth no-no of the season, the sixth if you the Umpire Jim Joyce's botched call during Armando Galarraga's perfect game. No hitters used to be a special moment in the MLB, so why all of the sudden has it become a mere once a month event?  There are several potential reasons for the resurgence in pitching. 

Reason #1: Steroids, or lack thereof

I’m sure that tonight many Twins fans are again ruing management’s decision to send Matt Garza to the Rays before the 2008 season.  The deal has definitely played out better for the Rays so far, and the Twins could sure use Garza’s strong right arm this season. Nevertheless, Twins fans still have plenty to be hopeful for in this deal.

The Rays kicked off an 11-game homestand Monday night by playing the first game of a four-game set against the Tigers. After the Rays are finished with the Tigers, they will face the Yankees this weekend and the Twins next week.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer started off the game by retiring six in a row, and then he wiggled himself out of a jam a couple of times in the game. Through six innings, he matched Matt Garza by pitching six shutout innings.

It appeared the Rays were going to make a mediocre pitcher look great as usual.

The last time the Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Silva won a game was back on July 6 against the Diamondacks in Arizona.  He then had two terrible outings suffering two consecutive losses and did not last more than two innings either time.  Tonight, his teammates made sure that they were backing him up as they pounded the Astros early in the game to give him his 10th victory of the year.  The Chicago Cubs defeat the Houston Astros 5-2 in the series' opener.

Stats as of July 24th ,2010 courtesy of ESPN.

1st Basemen

Gaby Sanchez   

41.9% owned in ESPN Leagues

Sanchez can be a good backup 1st baseman in most leagues, putting up respectable numbers, .302/.366/.470. After a hot June where he batted .375, Sanchez has cooled down in July.

One hundred eighty-seven MLB players were surveyed to answer the question — who is the most overrated player in baseball?

Keep in mind that when determining whether a player is overrated or not, evaluation is not the sole factor — public opinion also needs to be weighed in.

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Now that Matt Garza has provided us with the fifth no-hitter of the season we might as well rank the great performances we have seen. It is apparent that the steroids-era in baseball is over.

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Spoiled food in the clubhouse and concession stands at Tropicana Field nearly resulted in two no-hitters in the July 26 contest between the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers.

When a report from Sports Illustrated stating that 100 percent of concession stands in Tropicana Field failed their food safety inspections in the last 12 months began circulating on the internet, players and fans alike were skeptical but no more after the results of today's contest.

Matt Garza took the headlines away from Alex Rodriguez's pursuit of 600 home runs and became the first Rays pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter, leaving the Padres and Mets as the only teams without a no-hitter.

And in what style: during a game being shown on ESPN and only facing 27 hitters. Of course the no-hitter required excellent fielding plays, like one by Ben Zobrist in right field.

A great game by both pitchers—Detroit pitcher Max Scherzer carried a no-no through six.

Tampa Bay Rays' Matt Garza just tossed Major League Baseball's fifth no-hitter of the season.

You have to go back 20 years to 1990 to find a season with more than three no-hitters, when six were thrown.

In MLB history only 20 pitchers have thrown a perfect game. Two of those were thrown this season, and that doesn't include Armando Galarraga's gem that would have been perfect if not for that one missed call.

If you have been paying attention, you know what is going on.