National League (NL) Cy Young Award-winning left-hander Blake Snell (31, San Diego Padres) pitched a dominant seven-inning no-hitter but couldn’t get the win. No no-hitter, no win, no nothing.

Snell started the 2023 Major League Baseball home opener against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park in San Diego, California, U.S., on Tuesday (Sept. 20) and pitched seven innings of no-hit ball, allowing four hits and striking out 10.

After retiring three straight batters to start the game, Snell walked two in the second to put runners on first and second, but back-to-back strikeouts and an infield grounder got him out of trouble. After back-to-back strikeouts in the third and fourth innings, he induced Brenton Doyle to ground out to shortstop with two outs in the fifth after a walk and a wild pitch.

Snell, who retired the side without a hit in the sixth and seventh innings, threw a total of 104 pitches. He topped out at 97.9 mph (157.6 km/h) and averaged 96.9 mph (155.9 km/h) with a mix of curves (44), changeups (38) and sliders (21), centered around his four-seam fastball.

But the San Diego offense was held scoreless through seven innings, and Snell turned the mound over to the bullpen to start the eighth. With his pitch count over 100, he wasn’t going to be able to throw a nine-inning no-hitter, but he could at least try to get through the eighth inning and get the win.

But Snell didn’t get greedy. According to MLB.com, after the seventh inning, San Diego manager Bob Melvin spoke to Snell in the dugout. Melvin decided to pull him, and Snell coolly accepted, saying, “It’s hard to pitch into the ninth inning.”

Snell, who smiled and hugged Melvin, said, “I know my body really well. I know how hard I threw today,” he said. “A no-hitter is a great record, and it’s really hard to do, but you also have to take care of your health. The no-hitter is just an individual honor.” Snell is a free agent after this season. His health is more important than ever, so he didn’t have to chase the no-hitter.메이저놀이터

Up to this point, Snell was 14-9 with a 2.33 ERA in 31 games (174 innings) with 227 strikeouts and 181 walks. He led the National League (NL) in ERA and WHIP and was second in strikeouts, making him a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award. He is having his best season since 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays, when he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award for his dominant stuff while allowing a league-high 97 walks.

In the other game, San Diego won 2-0 on Xander Bogaerts’ game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning. Snell was followed in the eighth by Roberto Suarez, who pitched one hitless inning with two strikeouts to keep his team’s no-hitter alive, but it was broken in the ninth by Josh Hader, who gave up two hits.