Giants' Blake Snell throws 1st career no-hitter in 3-0 win over the Reds

CINCINNATI (AP) — Blake Snell was one out away from pitching the first no-hit game in his illustrious career and had to get power-hitting Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz one more time.

Cruz jumped on Snell’s first pitch, a 97.8 mph fastball in the middle of the zone, ripping it hard to the gap in right-center field. Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski — inserted for defensive purposes in the eighth inning — ran it down, leaping to make the catch and preserve Snell's gem and 3-0 win.

The 31-year-old lefty, the league’s reigning Cy Young Award winner, was mobbed his teammates. It was third no-hitter in the majors this season.

“You're so amped up in the last inning there, to be able to make that throw when you are trying to throw it as hard as you can to the plate,” Snell said.

“I'm still kind of in shock,” he said. “I need to go home and let it sink in. I haven't really processed the game.”

Snell (1-3) struck out 10 and threw 114 pitches, 78 of them strikes. He said he came into the ninth inning throwing strikes because he feared Giants manager Bob Melvin would remove him at 120 pitches. He wanted the complete game, something he'd never done in 202 major league starts.

“I knew in my head I had to get it over the plate,” he said. It took him 10 pitches to strike out Santiago Espinal and get Jonathan India on a comebacker before De La Cruz swung at the 11th.

Actually, Melvin said he was ready to pull Snell if he had allowed a hit in the ninth. He was watching Snell closely because the pitcher started developing a blister around the seventh inning.

“That's as nervous as I had been in a long time,” Melvin said. "I wanted that for him so bad. If anybody has the stuff to throw a no-hitter, it's Blake Snell."

Snell was especially effective against the top of Cincinnati's order, striking out India three times, and De La Cruz and Spencer Steer twice each.

Snell recorded the 18th no-hitter in Giants' franchise history and the third in the majors this season. Houston’s Ronal Blanco no-hit Toronto on April 1, and San Diego’s Dylan Cease pitched a no-hitter against Washington on July 25.

“I don’t think it will be his only one," said Reds pitcher Nick Martinez, who played with Snell in San Diego last season. “He was commanding the ball very well. It seemed like he didn’t miss a spot all night. He has some electric stuff.”

Casey Schmitt and Tyler Fitzgerald homered for the Giants on Friday.

Snell threw six perfect innings against Minnesota on July 14, before the Twins’ Manuel Margot singled leading off the seventh inning. He struck out 15 in his last outing on July 27, yielding two hits through six innings.

He won the Cy Young Award while playing for San Diego last season after winning it in 2018 as a Tampa Bay Ray. He became the seventh player in major league history to win the award in both leagues. He signed a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants before the season.

Snell became the fifth reigning Cy Young Award winner to throw a no-hitter, along with Jake Arrieta (2016), Clayton Kershaw (2014), Bob Gibson (1971) and Sandy Koufax (1964), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The last no-hitter for the Giants was by Chris Heston on June 19, 2015, as San Francisco beat the New York Mets 5-0.

The Reds were last no-hit on May 17, 2019, by Mike Fiers of the Oakland A’s in a 2-0 loss.

Reds starter Andrew Abbott lasted just 4 1/3 innings in Friday's game, allowing two runs and seven hits. He struck out eight.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Reds: Activated from the 10-day injured list C Luke Maile (herniated disc). ... Emilio Pagán (right lat strain) is a Triple-A Louisville for rehab stint.

UP NEXT

Giants lefty Kyle Harrison (6-4, 3.69 ERA) faces Reds right-hander Hunter Greene (7-4, 2.97) as the series continues on Saturday night.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald, right, celebrates with teammate Mark Canha (16) after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell throws during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell, right, sits in the dugout during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell walks to the dugout during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell jogs onto the field during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell, left, speaks with catcher Patrick Bailey, right, at the pitcher's mound during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell, center, throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants' Casey Schmitt (10) celebrates with teammate Marco Luciano, right, after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants' Marco Luciano scores on a double hit by teammate Tyler Fitzgerald during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald hits an RBI double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Giants' Blake Snell throws 1st career no-hitter in 3-0 win over the Reds

Giants' Blake Snell throws 1st career no-hitter in 3-0 win over the Reds

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Feeling pretty good on a Saturday night, Connor Zilisch acted like so many teenagers when he slammed an energy drink on a table and started scrolling through his phone.

Then Zilisch interrupted his session with the media because he had to take a call.

“From Dale,” he said.

Yeah, Dale Earnhardt Jr. the Hall of Fame driver who now fields a ride for Zilisch in NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series.

That Zilisch could have been scrolling the rest of the night through congratulatory texts and TikTok highlights — and perhaps taking more calls from famous names — is what separates him from any other teenager. The 18-year-old next big thing is a NASCAR race winner.

Zilisch raced to victory in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, saving enough fuel in a wreck-marred finish to allow the teen sensation to take the first of what many in the industry expect to be a career full of checkered flags on Saturday at Watkins Glen International.

“I’ve worked so hard for this one,” Zilisch said. “I’ve been working on this one for months. It’s so special.”

Zilisch, who turned 18 in July, spent the majority of the race leading in the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and was nowhere near the chaos in the back of the pack, but he was forced to stretch his fuel.

The race was red-flagged for about 20 minutes — where Zilisch killed time by radioing his team for college football scores — and the race was eventually forced into double overtime, though there was never a serious battle on the 2.45-mile road course for the lead.

“It's just a sense of relief knowing that I can compete against those guys,” Zilisch said.

Zilisch has been pegged by NASCAR drivers as one of the next big future stars.

“It’s cool to have people tell me that,” he said. “I still have a long road ahead of me, a lot of races ahead of me.”

His future truly started at Watkins Glen.

“He’s been really impressive,” Cup driver William Byron said. “He’s doing all the right things and making a lot of speed out there.”

Sheldon Creed was second, followed by AJ Allmendinger, Chandler Smith and Shane van Gisbergen.

Zilisch was go-karting before he started school, and raced in Europe until he was urged by former NASCAR star Kevin Harvick to try stock car racing. Zilisch signed a multiyear development deal earlier this year with Trackhouse Racing.

He’s run a variety of different series this year in the CARS Tour, ARCA, Trans-Am, IMSA and Trucks. Once he turned 18 in July, he was entered into four Xfinity Series races for JR Motorsports.

Age eligible to compete in IMSA sports car racing, he made his debut in January as the endurance driver for Era Motorsports and picked up LMP2 class wins in both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and again at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Zilisch made an instant impact at The Glen when he trounced the field a night earlier and won the ARCA Series race.

Zilisch had just two career starts in the NASCAR national ranks, both earlier this season in the Truck Series. Pressure? He won the pole and finished fourth at Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

He landed with an Xfinity team that all but guarantees future success.

Zilisch joins the team owned by Earnhardt. The team is a perennial Xfinity title contender that has helped launched Cup Series careers for Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Byron and Tyler Reddick, among others. He’ll finish this season for Earnhardt with speedway starts at Kansas, Homestead-Miami and Phoenix.

Zilisch had time to chat with the boss.

“Thank you, I appreciate it, Dale. It's cool, it's really cool,” Zilisch into the phone. “I appreciate everything you've done for me. It's a pleasure to be racing for you guys.”

Zilisch held up his phone so everyone could hear the familiar voice of NASCAR's 15-time most popular driver.

“Tell everyone I said hi,” Earnhardt said to laughter.

Zilisch won the pole and won the first stage before he ran into his only hiccup in the race, a penalty for cutting the course during a caution that dropped him out of the top three.

He regained his lead late and earned the win — yes, a true dream come true.

“There’s a lot to think about when you’re going into your debut like this,” Zilisch said. “I had my own hotel room, so nobody to talk to, just kind of lay there in thought and dream about winning.”

Zilisch became the seventh driver in Xfinity history to win his first race in the second-tier series.

Just hold the bubbly — because he’s only 18, Zilisch was forced to spray an energy drink in victory lane.

“I prepare for every race like it’s the most important race of my life,” he said. “That’s kind of what I did today.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - Connor Zilisch greets team members after the Rolex 24-hour auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Jan. 28, 2024, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)