'Why not just throw a no-hitter?' Pitching in 9th for 1st time, Snell makes history

CINCINNATI -- For all his accomplishments -- two Cy Young Awards, an All-Star selection -- there was one feat that had long eluded Blake Snell.

Entering Friday, Snell had never completed eight innings over his nine-year Major League career, much less come close to throwing a complete game. His inability to do so gnawed at him, so much so that he vowed to finally go the distance this year.

• Every team's last no-no

“There’s been a bunch of crap about him not going deep into games,” catcher Patrick Bailey said. “We were joking about it the other day. I was like, ‘We’re going to go nine shutty together.’ I think one of us was like, ‘Why not just throw a no-hitter?’”

That vision came to life on Friday night, when a dominant Snell threw the 18th no-hitter in Giants history in a series-opening 3-0 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

• Facts & figures about Snell's 1st career no-hitter

“They can’t say it anymore,” said Snell, who also earned his first win for San Francisco. “Complete game, shutout, no-hitter. Leave me alone. 'He doesn't go into the 9th. He doesn't go into the 8th.' Just did it. Leave me alone.”

It was the first no-hitter by a Giant since Chris Heston twirled one against the Mets on June 9, 2015, and the third no-no in MLB this season after the Padres’ Dylan Cease (July 25 at Washington) and the Astros’ Ronel Blanco (April 1 vs. Toronto).

• All-time no-hitters in MLB history

“That’s as nervous as I’ve been in a long time,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I wanted that for him so bad. If anybody has the stuff to throw a no-hitter, it’s Blake Snell. It finally came through. Pitched nine innings of no-hit ball. He’s got that feather in his cap, which is pretty cool.”

Taking the mound following a one-hour rain delay, Snell showed he was locked in from the start, needing only 11 pitches to strike out the side in the first inning. He didn’t stop rolling from there, racking up 11 punchouts while allowing only three baserunners to reach on a trio of walks.

“A special night for him,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He was really good. We tried to lock in, get ahead and be ready to hit. He had great stuff. He pitched a really incredible game.”

Snell had thrown seven no-hit innings twice before in his career -- against the D-backs on Aug. 31, 2021, and vs. the Rockies on Sept. 19, 2023 -- but he entered uncharted territory once he got through eight frames. Snell was up to 108 pitches after eclipsing his previous personal best of 7 2/3 innings, but there wasn’t much question that he would be allowed to return to the mound and pitch into the ninth for the first time in his career.

“I wasn’t going to say a whole lot to him,” Melvin said. “He was a bit tired, and he’s never been in the ninth inning before. But there comes a point in time where it’s kind of destiny for him, especially the way he’s been throwing.”

Buoyed by a fresh wave of adrenaline, Snell struck out Santiago Espinal swinging on a curveball, induced a weak comebacker from Jonathan India and then coaxed a lineout from Elly De La Cruz to cap his 114-pitch gem. Mike Yastrzemski, who entered the game as a defensive replacement for starting right fielder Jerar Encarnacion in the bottom of the eighth, raced into the gap to catch De La Cruz’s 91.6 mph liner for the final out, thrusting his arms in the air before running in to join his teammates in mobbing Snell.

“I was pumped up,” Snell said. “It was a great time. I’m still kind of shocked. I need to go home, let it sink in.”

Snell leaned on his electric fastball-curveball combination to generate 21 swinging strikes, though he took extra pride in being able to field his position and throw out India for the second out in the ninth.

“The PFP [pitchers’ fielding practice], I was pretty excited about that,” Snell said. “I made a good throw there.”

Tyler Fitzgerald went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an RBI double, and Casey Schmitt also went deep to back Snell, who now has a sparkling 0.54 ERA (two earned runs over 33 innings) in five starts since returning from the injured list.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Fitzgerald said. “He was unhittable.”

Between Logan Webb’s shutout against the A’s on Wednesday and Snell’s masterpiece on Friday, the Giants have received back-to-back shutouts from their starters for the first time since Aug. 19-20, 2002.

More importantly, they’re back within one game of .500 (55-56) after winning six of their last seven games, validating the front office’s decision to hold onto Snell at Tuesday’s Trade Deadline and lean into the club’s formidable starting pitching down the stretch.

“We had back-to-back shutouts with Webby and Snell,” Fitzgerald said. “We kind of feel like we have something good going. It’s all about putting up runs for these guys, which we haven’t done an amazing job of this year. But we feel really good about our rotation, and as long as we play good defense and put up runs for them, we can make a little run here.”