"Why not just throw a no-hitter?" Blake Snell's Historic Night in Cincinnati

“There’s been a bunch of crap about him not going deep into games,” catcher Patrick Bailey remarked. “We were joking about it the other day. I was like, ‘We’re going to go nine shutty together.’ I think one of us was like, ‘Why not just throw a no-hitter?’”

On Friday night, Snell turned that vision into reality. In a dominant performance, he pitched the 18th no-hitter in Giants history, leading his team to a 3-0 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

“They can’t say it anymore,” Snell declared, reveling in his achievement. “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.”

This no-hitter was the first for the Giants since Chris Heston's in 2015 and the third in MLB this season.

“That’s as nervous as I’ve been in a long time,” said manager Bob Melvin. “I wanted that for him so bad. If anybody has the stuff to throw a no-hitter, it’s Blake Snell. It finally came through. Pitched nine innings of no-hit ball. He’s got that feather in his cap, which is pretty cool.”

Snell's night began with a one-hour rain delay but he quickly locked in, needing only 11 pitches to strike out the side in the first inning. He continued to dominate, striking out 11 batters and allowing only three baserunners on walks.

“A special night for him,” Reds manager David Bell acknowledged. “He was really good. We tried to lock in, get ahead and be ready to hit. He had great stuff. He pitched a really incredible game.”

Snell had previously thrown seven no-hit innings twice in his career but had never pitched into the ninth. Despite reaching a career-high 108 pitches after eight innings, there was no doubt he would return for the ninth.

“I wasn’t going to say a whole lot to him,” Melvin noted. “He was a bit tired, and 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.”

In the ninth inning, Snell struck out Santiago Espinal with a curveball, fielded a weak comebacker from Jonathan India, and induced a lineout from Elly De La Cruz, culminating his 114-pitch gem. Mike Yastrzemski, who had replaced Jerar Encarnacion in right field, caught De La Cruz’s liner for the final out and joined his teammates in celebrating Snell’s historic achievement.

“I was pumped up,” Snell said. “It was a great time. I’m still kind of shocked. I need to go home, let it sink in.”

Snell's fastball-curveball combination was particularly effective, generating 21 swinging strikes. He also took pride in his fielding, throwing out India in the ninth.

“The PFP [pitchers’ fielding practice], I was pretty excited about that,” Snell said. “I made a good throw there.”

The Giants’ offense supported Snell with homers from Tyler Fitzgerald and Casey Schmitt, contributing to the team's back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2002.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Fitzgerald said. “He was unhittable.”

The Giants are now within one game of .500 after winning six of their last seven games, validating the front office’s decision to keep Snell at the Trade Deadline and rely on their strong starting pitching.

“We had back-to-back shutouts with Webby and Snell,” Fitzgerald said. “We kind of feel like we have something good going. It’s all about putting up runs for these guys, which we haven’t done an amazing job of this year. But we feel really good about our rotation, and as long as we play good defense and put up runs for them, we can make a little run here.”