Former Padres Pitcher Throws MLB's Third No-Hitter of 2024

J.P. Hoornstra | Aug 3, 2024

Aug 2, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) celebrates with catcher Patrick Bailey (14) after throwing a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Twice as a member of the San Diego Padres, Blake Snell carried a no-hit bid through seven innings. Each time, he was removed by manager Bob Melvin in favor of a reliever.

Snell was on the mound Friday to start the San Francisco Giants' game against the Cincinnati Reds. Melvin, now the Giants' manager, was in the dugout again.

This time, Melvin let Snell go the distance. And this time, the game ended without the Reds recording a hit.

The Giants' 3-0 win was not only the first complete game no-hitter of Snell's career. It was the first time he had completed nine innings in any of his 202 major league appearances.

Blake Snell tosses the 18th no-hitter in @SFGiants history! pic.twitter.com/KVS3tml6CR

— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2024

Snell got Elly De La Cruz to fly out on his 114th pitch of the game to end the ninth inning, touching off a raucous celebration at Great American Ball Park. The left-hander, who signed a one-year, $32 million contract with the Giants in March, allowed three walks en route to the 18th no-hitter in Giants history.

It was the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball since the Padres' Dylan Cease no-hit the Washington Nationals eight days ago, and the third this season.

Blake Snell's teammates almost knocked him out after his no-hitter pic.twitter.com/GcHSqzbteM

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 3, 2024

Snell got off to a rough start this season after holding out until late spring training for a new contract. He made two separate trips to the injured list in the season's first three months. He entered July 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA.

Since returning from the IL the second time on July 9, he's been nothing but dominant. Snell didn't factor into the decision in any of his four starts last month, but allowed only eight hits and two runs across 24 innings. From that point of view, the no-hitter was entirely predictable.

In another sense, it was not. Snell had never been allowed to complete a game in his life.

When he took a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning of Game 6 of the 2020 World Series for the Rays, Snell was lifted rather than being allowed to face the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup for a third time. (The Rays eventually lost that game, and the World Series.) When he recorded 15 of his 18 outs via strikeout in his most recent start, July 27 against the Colorado Rockies, Melvin again lifted Snell before the seventh inning.

This was always the conventional wisdom about Snell: almost unhittable when he's in the game, but don't leave him in for too long. When Melvin relieved Snell midway through his two no-hit bids with San Diego, it was perfectly in line with this thinking.

Friday, Snell bucked the trend. He'd thrown 114 pitches on only three occasions before in his career — only once with the Padres, across seven innings of an eventual 1-0 win on Sept. 21, 2022.

"There comes a point in time where it's kind of destiny for him."

Bob Melvin had no plans to take Blake Snell off the mound tonight pic.twitter.com/jiK5YMtb9Q

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 3, 2024

"He was a little bit tired," Melvin said. "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. The hard part is, you don't want anybody warming up. We didn't have anybody warming up.

"That's as nervous as I've been in a long time. I wanted that for him so bad."