Giants' Alex Cobb loses no-hit bid with 2 outs in the 9th, settles for 1-hit, 6-1 win over Reds
Alex Cobb came within one out of a no-hitter before Spencer Steer doubled with two outs in the ninth inning of the San Francisco Giants' 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.
Cobb dazzled to shut down Cincinnati before Steer's double provided the Reds' only run, coming so close to the majors' fifth no-hitter this year.
Center fielder Austin Slater had made the defensive play of the game when he chased down a shallow fly ball by Will Benson with a diving catch in left-center to end the eighth.
The 35-year-old right-hander just missed tossing San Francisco's first no-hitter since Chris Heston on June 9, 2015, at the Mets.
After getting Noelvi Marte's first-pitch flyout to start the ninth, Cobb (7-5) issued a one-out walk to Nick Senzel before another fly to right by TJ Friedl. Then Steer came through with an opposite-field hit.
A run scored on the double, and Cobb threw a called third strike past rookie Elly De La Cruz on his career-high 131st pitch for his eighth strikeout.
Senzel was credited with a single in the third inning on a two-hopper that third baseman Casey Schmitt snagged with a backhand grab. The rookie's throw from foul territory was high and pulled a leaping J.D. Davis off the first-base bag. Official scorer Chris Thoms originally called the play a hit, then changed it to an error several minutes later.
Patrick Bailey hit a two-run homer to help Cobb win for the first time in nine starts since July 5. The Giants went ahead in the second on a balk then Luis Matos delivered an RBI double to back Cobb.
