Padres' Minor League Club Tosses Combined No-Hitter
Pitcher Henry Baez threw six perfect innings as the Padres' advanced Class-A affiliate Fort Wayne TinCaps completed the fourth perfect game in franchise history on Friday.
Baez, the Padres' No. 30 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, allowed a run in the seventh inning of the game but did not allow a hit in Fort Wayne's 9-1 win over the Great Lakes Loons. Will Geerdes and Jose Geraldo completed the no-hit effort. Colton Bender caught all nine innings.
Baez struck out four batters in seven innings. The 21-year-old right-hander threw 79 pitches, 48 for strikes. He recorded 10 groundouts and two flyouts. According to the TinCaps' website, he mixed a mid-90s fastball with a curveball and a splitter.
Fort Wayne allowed its only run after Loons center fielder Chris Newell walked to lead off the seventh. Baez attempted to start a double play by throwing to second base, but the throw was errant and went into center field, allowing Newell to advance to third. When the next batter, Kyle Nevin, hit into a double-play groundout, Newell scored from third.
Neither Geerdes nor Geraldo allowed a hit in their only innings of work.
Fort Wayne's last no-hit effort came just last year, on May 16 in Dayton, Ohio. They previously tossed a combined no-hitter against Great Lakes in 2013. The first no-hitter in franchise history was a solo effort by Simón Castro against Dayton on Aug. 19, 2009.
Baez has a 2.88 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 16 High-A starts this year.