Fastball

Baltimore Orioles Make a Little Spring Training History with No-Hitter on Saturday

Baltimore no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates in Grapefruit League play on Saturday, doing something we haven't seen in nearly two years.

Brady Farkas

A Baltimore Orioles hat and glove rest on the dugout rail during a game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in 2024.
A Baltimore Orioles hat and glove rest on the dugout rail during a game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in 2024. / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
In this story:

Playing against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, the Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff did its part to make a little spring training history.

The O's pitchers threw a combined no-hitter, something we haven't seen in spring training since 2023.

Baltimore won the game 4-0 behind a big day from the bottom of the order and scoreless efforts from Zach Eflin, Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Perez, Bryan Baker, Roansy Contreras and Riley Cooper on the mound.

Eflin will get the start for the O's on Opening Day in the wake of the elbow injury to Grayson Rodriguez. Baltimore acquired him last season in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Orioles are coming off a season in which they finished second in the American League East. They advanced to the American League wild card round of the playoffs, where they were upset by the Kansas City Royals in two games. Despite that failure, and the early-season injuries to Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish, the O's are among the favorites in the American League once again.

With young talent like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday, the O's have one of the best group of homegrown players in the sport. Rutschman and Henderson are expected to carry the lineup, with Henderson serving as a possible MVP candidate.

The Orioles will open the regular season on Thursday, March 27 at the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays finished last in the division last season but profile to be better this year after offseason additions of Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer and Jeff Hoffman.

Related MLB Stories

ANOTHER OPENING DAY NOD: Chris Sale will make his sixth Opening Day start this season, putting him in a rare class among current pitchers. CLICK HERE:

UNREAL STREAK: The Cincinnati Reds have one of the more bizarre streaks in baseball going as Opening Day nears. CLICK HERE:

$1.1 MILLION CARD: A Paul Skenes rookie card just sold for $1.1 million, which is more than Skenes' actual salary for the season. CLICK HERE:

Follow Fastball on SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History