Big red machine
Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey, right, hugged catcher Ryan Hanigan after holding the Giants hitless.
CINCINNATI >> Another hard-throwin’ Texan has developed a knack for no-hitters.
Homer Bailey threw his second in 10 months and the first in the majors this season, pitching the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.
Bailey became the third Reds pitcher with more than one no-hitter, joining Jim Maloney and Johnny Vander Meer — still the only big leaguer to toss two in a row. Bailey beat the Pirates 1-0 in Pittsburgh last Sept. 28 and got another 18 starts later.
“Every dog has its day twice, I guess,” Bailey said. “It felt good to do it in front of the Cincinnati fans.”
The last pitcher to throw one no-hitter and then another before anyone else in the majors accomplished the feat was Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, according to STATS. Baseball’s career strikeout king did it for the California Angels on Sept. 28, 1974, against Minnesota, and June 1, 1975, vs. Baltimore.
Now, the Ryan Express has a worthy passenger from Texas.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
“Obviously being from Texas and what a legend he is,” said Bailey, who wears No. 34 in tribute to his boyhood idol. “To do it once is extra special. To do it twice — I don’t really have the words for it right now.”
Try Ryan-esque.
“He comes from the state of Texas that has produced a lot of no-hitters,” said Reds manager Dusty Baker, who made the final out in one of Ryan’s record seven no-hitters.
Bailey (5-6) dominated the defending World Series champs, who are going through quite a slump. It was so neat that there weren’t many close calls.
He walked Gregor Blanco leading off the seventh, the only Giants batter to reach base. First baseman Joey Votto alertly threw out Blanco as he tried to advance from second to third on a soft one-hopper that otherwise could have become an infield single for Buster Posey.
Justin Verlander, Mark Buehrle and Roy Halladay are the only other active pitchers with a pair of no-hitters. Halladay, of course, threw one of his in the postseason against the Reds in 2010.
“Going into the eighth and ninth I just said, ‘Why the hell not?’ Here we go again,” Bailey said.
