The San Francisco Giants ace Blake Snell threw a no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. This was the first no-hitter for Snell in his career and first for the Giants in almost a decade after Chris Heston did it in 2015.
Snell threw 114 pitches against Cincinnati, getting 11 strikeouts and three walks. He entered the game against the Reds with an impressive performance against the Colorado Rockies in which he struck out a career-high 15 batters.
Snell was previously close to a no-hitter several times in his career but was pulled out after seven innings on those occasions. The game against the Reds marked the first time that Snell pitched in the ninth inning and had a complete game.
“They can’t say it anymore,” said Snell after the game. “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.”
Snell, one of the rare pitchers to win a Cy Young award in both the NL and AL, signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants in the offseason after a longer-than-expected stint at the free-agent market. He was in for a rough start in San Francisco as his ERA ballooned to 9.51 in his first six starts.
However, Snell is finding his groove following a stint on injured reserve in early July. Since then, he has a 0.55 ERA with 41 strikeouts.
