PITTSBURGH — Homer Bailey had a certain milestone on his mind when he walked to the mound Friday night. He wound up pulling off an even bigger feat.
Bailey pitched the seventh no-hitter in the majors this season, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The right-hander began the night with 195 innings pitched this season and was eager to reach 200 for the first time in his six-year career.
“I looked up at the scoreboard [after the fifth inning] to see if I had hit 200 and saw a couple of zeros,” Bailey said. “That’s when I knew I had a chance at a no-hitter. It’s not something you think about doing.”
It was the 15th no-hitter in Reds history and first since Tom Browning’s perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 16, 1988.
The seven major league no-hitters match the modern record for one season, tying 1990 and 1991. There were eight no-hitters in 1884.
“I don’t think there is any reason why there have been so many,” Bailey said. “There is a real fine line there in throwing a no-hitter. A bloop can fall in the outfield or an infielder can be in the wrong position and there goes your hit. You have to be extremely fortunate to throw a no-hitter and we had luck on our side tonight.”
Bailey (13-10) struck out 10 and walked one. He threw 115 pitches and retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out pinch-hitter Brock Holt before getting pinch-hitter Michael McKenry and Alex Presley to pop out.
When second baseman Brandon Phillips caught Presley’s popup on the outfield grass, Bailey was mobbed near the mound by happy teammates and doused with water.
The 26-year-old Bailey improved to 5-0 with a 1.19 ERA in six career starts at PNC Park. All four of his complete games and both his shutouts have come against Pittsburgh.
It was the first time the Pirates had been held hitless since Hall of Famer Bob Gibson pitched the lone no-hitter of his career in 1971 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cincinnati, which clinched the NL Central title last Saturday, improved to 95-62. The Reds are tied with Washington for the best record in the NL.
Bailey has been touted as a future ace since Cincinnati selected him seventh overall in the 2004 amateur draft following his senior year of high school in LaGrange, Texas.
He has a 38-33 career record and has set a season high for wins. Reds bench coach Chris Speier, serving as acting manager while Dusty Baker recovers from a mini-stroke, thinks the no-hitter could serve as a benchmark moment for Bailey.
The other no-hitters this season were thrown by Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox, Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels, Johan Santana of the New York Mets, Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants, Felix Hernandez of Seattle and a combined six-pitcher effort by the Mariners. Humber, Cain and Hernandez each had a perfect game.
ASTROS 7, BREWERS 6
Edgar Gonzalez allowed one hit before tiring in the sixth and Brett Wallace, Jason Castro and Jose Altuve all homered and visiting Houston beat Milwaukee.
CARDINALS 12, NATIONALS 2
Allen Craig matched his career best with four hits to go with two RBI, Yadier Molina hit a two-run home run and host St. Louis defeated Washington.
MARLINS 2, PHILLIES 1
Carlos Lee’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted host Miami to a victory over Philadelphia and eliminated the Phillies from playoff contention.
METS 3, BRAVES 1
Lucas Duda’s three-run home run in the seventh gave New York the lead, Jonathon Niese pitched seven strong innings for his third consecutive victory and the Mets beat Tim Hudson and the host Braves.
American League ANGELS 7, RANGERS 4
Jered Weaver became the American League’s first 20-game winner, Mike Trout hit a lead off home run and visiting Los Angeles beat Texas to prevent the Rangers from clinching a playoff berth.
INDIANS 8, ROYALS 5
Sandy Alomar Jr.won his first game as the Indians manager as Jason Kipnis drove in three runs and host Cleveland beat Kansas City.
ORIOLES 9, RED SOX 1
Chris Tillman (9-2) pitched eight innings of one-hit ball, Ryan Flaherty hit his first career grand slam and host Baltimore beat Boston to secure their grip on the top AL wild-card spot.
RAYS 3, WHITE SOX 1
Alex Rios hit his career-high 25th home run and host Chicago gave its fading playoff hopes a boost, beating Tampa Bay.
TWINS 4, TIGERS 2
Ryan Doumit had four RBI for Minnesota, including the go-ahead two run double in the eighth inning to help the Twins beat visiting Detroit. Rookie Drew Smyly (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) struck out five over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, but Brayan Villarreal (3-5) walked three to load the bases in the eighth before Doumit’s one-out hit put the Twins in front.
YANKEES 11, BLUE JAYS 4
Russell Martin hit a three-run home run, Eric Chavez added a two-run shot and visiting New York maintained its one-game lead atop the AL East by beating Toronto. Nick Swisher had two hits and two RBI for the Yankees, who have not lost consecutive games since a three-game skid from Sept. 2-4. Hiroki Kuroda (15-11) won for the third time in five starts despite matching a season-high by allowing 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Friday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 1, Pittsburgh 0 Miami 2, Philadelphia 1 NY Mets 3, Atlanta 1 Houston 7, Milwaukee 6 St. Louis 12, Washington 2 Chicago Cubs at Arizona, (n) San Francisco at San Diego, (n) Colorado at LA Dodgers, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 9, Boston 1 Cleveland 8, Kansas City 5 NY Yankees 11, Toronto 4 LA Angels 7, Texas 4 Minnesota 4, Detroit 2 Chicago White Sox 3, Tampa Bay 1 Seattle at Oakland, (n)
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/29/2012