Reader Ryan shares a tale of four friends and one panda suit who decided to take in a game at AT&T Park. Did we mention a struggling young lefty was making a spot start that night?

Ryan, take it away:

My friend Scott had the clever idea of renting a Panda costume to bring to the game in support of Pablo getting the shaft for the All Star Game. We cabbed down to the park, Scott in full Panda mode, scalped 4 tickets in the bleachers and never saw the seats. We were bombarded by people from the get go, taking pictures, shaking hands, kissing babies, the panda costume was a hit in the rightfield arcade, even Krukow on air called it "genius". Together we must have received hundreds of calls and texts saying we were on TV, it was hilarious. We were holding signs up that read "Pablo is My Homie", "Panda Loves Kruk and Kuip", and "LA SUCKS" in right center when Pablo crushed the first pitch he saw into the arcade. It flew over Scott the Panda, ricocheted off our friend Amy, bounced off my leg, and into the hand of our friend Matt! We caught the Pablo home run ball!!!

We were so thrilled after that and being preoccupied with the Panda being so popular, it took a text from my brother reading "Sanchez is Dealing, Check the Scoreboard" in the 7th for me to realize the moment. I immediately huddled the group and explained that the "Panda-monium" must take a back seat to possible Giants History, so from the 7th on we soaked in every pitch. After the called 3rd strike, we realized that we've all just experienced our greatest sporting event moment, ever.

But the icing on this cake was complete when we ventured post game to Momo's. Scott the Panda was getting free drinks, all night, even tending bar, when who of all people appear, but Jonathon Sanchez himself! He was there maybe ten minutes, but still enough time for us to congratulate and personally thank him for the incredible night he helped give to my friends and I. He was humble and happy to let us snap off what could be my all time favorite photo....The Panda, Amy, Sanchez, and myself. So Scott the Panda was famous, Matt caught the Sandoval ball, Amy got her picture with her Giants crush, Sanchez,
and we all got to see a piece of San Francisco Giants History!

So, this happened last night. And as with any no-hitter, Jonathan Sanchez's had its share of weird. Consider:

-He had never thrown a complete game in his career.
-Banished to the bullpen last month, he only started because Randy Johnson is old.
-His father Sirgfredo was in the stands to watch him pitch for the very first time.

Of course, no one feels worse than Juan Uribe, who booted a ball with five outs left for the only baserunner of the game, and was promptly shanked in the locker room. Regardless, here's the historic line that shows just how filthy Sanchez was.

And if you think Sanchez was excited, take a look at the breathless updates and loss of command of the English language toward the end of the game notes. By the end, the scorekeeper is just smashing the keyboard with his engorged member.

*****
Good Saturday. It's a beautiful July morning, so let's all stay inside and talk sports (except for a quick run to 7-Eleven to get your free Slurpee today, of course). Now, out of the dark and into the light.

• There Goes A-Rod's Sex Life Speaking of the Yanks... they did manage to pick up a win over their fierce rivals from Tampa Bay. Alex Rodriguez led the way with a homer and four runs driven in despite those dubious Devil Rays and their gamesmanship. In response to Joe Torre having Akinori Iwamura's goofy bat confiscated the Rays did the same to the Yankees third baseman. 22 year-old starter Ian Kennedy pitched a gem amidst a deluge of asshattery. The rookie pitched seven strong allowing just one run while tallying six strikeouts en route to the 9-6 victory. They Yankees are in position for the wildcard and they remain five back of Boston in the East.

• Hovering Above Mediocrity Milwaukee continued their turnaround with a dominating 12-3 victory over the Pirates but those wily Cubs just won't give an inch. Chicago got a quality start out of suspected Canadian Jew, Jason Marquis, and some timely production out of their big bangers Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. They hung survived a typically terrifying Ryan Dempster save opportunity for the 4-3 win over Houston. St. Louis kept up with the other Central dwellers with a win of their own. They remain a half game back of Milwaukee and two back of Chicago.

We love how the baseball world stops when someone throws a no-hitter, no matter what the circumstances or context. Mark Buehrle's no-hitter last night was like any other no-hitter — a little better than most, actually, if not quite perfect — but that is enough to make it the talk of every sports fan this morning, and will be again the next time it happens. (We'll all watch Buehrle's next start with that quiet hope he'll pull a Vander Meer.) Heck, it's enough to make you understand why people would pour beer on his head in the middle of the field. That looked cold.

Almost Perfect [South Side Sox]