Anibal Sanchez of the Florida Marlins threw a no-hitter Wednesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

One of four rookies in the Florida rotation, Sanchez (7-2) walked four and pitched around an error. He struck out six and threw 103 pitches in his 13th career start.

Sanchez’s performance ended a stretch of 6,364 major league games between no-hitters. The longest gap previously was 4,015 games from Sept. 30, 1984, to Sept. 19, 1986, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The most recent no-hitter by a rookie was by Bud Smith of St. Louis, who beat San Diego 4-0 on Sept. 3, 2001.

The bad news for Boston Red Sox fans is that Sanchez was in your minor league system less than a year ago. So was Hanley Ramirez the Marlins short stop who could very easily win rooke-of-the-year.  The Red Sox traded them to the Marlins in the Josh Beckett-Mike Lowell deal. Brilliant move Theo!

The Sox’s trade of Sanchez, shortstop Hanley Ramirez and two minor leaguers for right-hander Josh Beckett, third baseman Mike Lowell and reliever Guillermo Mota seemed like a good idea at the time. It still could prove to be a winner if the 26-year-old Beckett, 14-10 with a 5.11 ERA, becomes the Sox’s future ace.

But goodness, Ramirez might be the N.L. Rookie of the Year. Sanchez won at Yankee Stadium in his major-league debut, changing speeds on his fastball as if he were a 10-year veteran. Combine his savvy with his stuff — an 89-to-95 mph fastball, power breaking ball and developing changeup — and his potential is considerable.