Chances are a pitcher isn’t throwing a no-hitter without the help of some phenomenal defense. And Tuesday night, the Oakland A’s gave Mike Fiers a couple big assists on his way to his second career no-hitter.
The A’s beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0, in the first of a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum. Sadly, just shy of 12,000 people were there to see Fiers’ stunning performance in person, so we’re here to help with that. (Also the game ended after 2 a.m. ET, so plenty of people probably missed this anyway.)
But Fiers’ no-no run looked like it was about to end in the top of the sixth inning thanks to Reds second baseman Kyle Farmer and slugger Joey Votto hitting back-to-back.
Farmer popped up into right field, and it looked like that was the end of Fiers’ streak — until A’s second baseman Jurickson Profar came way out for a spectacular diving catch for the second out of the inning.
But the Votto stepped up to the plate and drilled what looked like it’d be a 388-foot homer, but that ball was no match for center fielder Ramon Laureano, who leaped into the air to rob the Reds of the tying run and preserve Fiers’ no-hitter.
The 33-year-old pitcher finished the game with 131 pitches, six strikeouts and two walks for the 300th no-hitter in MLB history, according to MLB Stats and Elias Sports. That’s also the most pitches in a no-hitter since the last time Fiers did it back in 2015 with the Houston Astros.
