'Tip your cap': Reds on sour side of no-no history

CINCINNATI -- The Reds were on the wrong side of history on Friday night at Great American Ball Park. All they could do was tip their caps to Giants left-hander Blake Snell, who tossed the third no-hitter in the ballpark’s history in Cincinnati’s series-opening 3-0 loss.

It was the 14th time in franchise history that the Reds have been no-hit and the first time since May 7, 2019, when A’s right-hander Mike Fiers did so at Oakland Coliseum.

The Cubs’ Jake Arrieta was the last pitcher to hold the Reds hitless at Great American Ball Park. He did so on April 21, 2016. Homer Bailey tossed the only other no-hitter in this ballpark (which opened in 2003) along the banks of the Ohio River in 2013 -- doing so against the Giants.

The start of Friday’s game was delayed one hour due to impending weather, but that had no impact on Snell. Nor did the Reds' aggressive approach against the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

“A special night for him,” manager David Bell said. “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. For us, it’s one loss.”

Reds pitcher Nick Martinez was Snell's teammate on the Padres last season, watching Snell go 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA in 32 starts. Martinez was not surprised that Snell made history this time around.

“I don’t think that will be his only one,” Martinez said. “He’s very capable of doing that. He’s got some electric stuff. When he’s on, he’s extremely difficult to hit.”

There wasn’t much hard contact against Snell on Friday night, aside from Jeimer Candelario’s line drive to second in the fifth, which resulted in a double play, and a pair of hard liners by Elly De La Cruz, including one to right field for the final out of the game.

The Reds drew three walks, but were not able to rattle the nine-year veteran, who struck out 11.

Martinez recorded his 500th career strikeout when he fanned Heliot Ramos in the seventh. But the night belonged to his former teammate.

“Don’t like to be on the wrong side of that, but good for him,” Martinez said. “It’s really cool for him. Congratulations to Blake on that.”

Reds catcher Luke Maile, who was reinstated from the injured list on Friday but did not appear in the game, was a teammate of Snell’s in 2016 with Tampa Bay. Snell was a rookie then and Maile was in his second year. (Both were drafted by the Rays, Snell in 2011 and Maile in '12.)

“Him and I were both just trying to get established in the big leagues with Tampa,” Maile said. “Everything kind of comes full circle. You remember him throw that pitch, or remember him use that sequence. What makes the big leagues cool is to see how much sharper it’s gotten. Cool to see all the work he put in manifest itself before your eyes.”

As for Reds starter Andrew Abbott, he’s still trying to find the consistency he showed earlier in the season, as highlighted by his up and down performance on Friday.

After he retired the first two batters in the second inning, Abbott allowed a solo homer from Casey Schmitt and an RBI double from Tyler Fitzgerald to make the score 2-0. Those were the only runs he allowed, though he gave up seven hits and one walk over his 4 1/3 innings. He also struck out eight before he was lifted with runners on first and second in favor of Buck Farmer, who eased out of the inning with a strikeout and groundout. Farmer then set the side down in order in the sixth.

It has been a rocky road for Abbott of late. Across two of Abbott's previous four outings, he tossed 13 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run; in the other two, he allowed nine earned runs over 7 2/3 innings.

“Did some things well, some things not,” Abbott said of Friday’s start. “When I got to 0-2, 1-2 [counts], I was able to execute pitches. The problem was getting there.”

But Friday night belonged to Snell. As a pitcher, Abbott had an appreciation for what his opponent accomplished.

“It’s hard enough to throw a no-hitter in baseball, so tip your cap to him,” Abbott said. “He was on all night. Kept our guys off balance.”