Nick Martinez and Spencer Steer just miss making history in Reds' 8-1 win over Padres

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds were on the verge of making history twice Friday night against the San Diego Padres.

Nick Martinez was three outs away from becoming the 18th pitcher in Reds franchise history to toss a no-hitter, and first baseman Spencer Steer was one swing away from becoming the second Reds player to homer four times in a game.

But, both Martinez and Steer fell short.

It was still a memorable night at Great American Ball Park as Cincinnati beat San Diego 8-1 for their eighth win in 12 games.

Martinez (5-8) didn't allow a hit until pinch-hitter Elias Diaz doubled off the left-center field wall in the ninth. Martinez matched his career high with 112 pitches. He walked two and struck out six before giving way to Taylor Rogers, who sealed the win.

Martinez retired 22 straight batters between a walk in the first inning and another to Trenton Brooks to start the ninth.

It was the longest no-hit bid against the Padres since Arizona's Tyler Gilbert completed the feat on Aug. 14, 2021.

“That's as nervous as I've been in a long, long time,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. "They say good things happen to good people. What he did this week going to the bullpen. He deserved that."

It was a far cry from Martinez's last start on June 19, when he allowed seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Twins. His next two appearances came in relief, tossing three scoreless innings.

“My last start, focus wasn't quite there, got shelled, which isn't fun,” the 34-year-old right-hander said. "Coming out of the pen allowed me to simplify things. It definitely helped me tonight."

Martinez came within three outs of the first no-hitter by a Reds pitcher since Wade Miley on May 7, 2021, in a 3-0 win at Cleveland.

Steer homered in the second inning and again in the fourth off Padres right-hander Dylan Cease. He then hit a two-run homer in the fifth off lefty Yuki Matsui. He came to bat leading off the eighth and struck out on a 3-2 pitch from David Morgan.

“With the score being 8-0 and it being the eighth inning, I can say that for the first time in my life, I didn't want to walk,” Steer said. “I was trying to give myself a chance to hit a fourth. You never know how many opportunities you'll get at that.”

It's the first career three-homer game for Steer, who has nine homers this season.

The only other Reds player to go deep four times in a game was Scooter Gennett on June 6, 2017, against the Cardinals, also at Great American Ball Park.

Steer said his golf game on Thursday's off day offered no indication that he'd have a big day at the plate on Friday.

“I shanked every shot I hit in the front nine,” he said, smiling.

Following his third homer, Steer refused to grant the crowd's request for a curtain call.

“He's so humble, he wasn't comfortable coming out,” Francona said. “Part of me thinks it's cool that he's so modest that he just doesn't want to do it.”

The possibility of a no-hitter and a four-homer game on the same night seemed unlikely, until Friday.

“That would have been one hell of a night,” Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson said.

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Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez reacts after striking out San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth to retire the side during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez (28) gestures to the crowd after a pitching change during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Spencer Steer (7) celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Spencer Steer gestures as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez, left, speaks with catcher Tyler Stephenson at the pitcher's mound during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Spencer Steer rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

NEW YORK (AP) — Up until this week, Wall Street has generally benefited from the Trump administration’s policies and has been supportive of the president. That relationship has suddenly soured.

When President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law in July, it pushed another significant round of tax cuts and also cut the budget of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at times the banking industry's nemesis, by nearly half. Trump’s bank regulators have also been pushing a deregulatory agenda that both banks and large corporations have embraced.

But now the president has proposed a one-year, 10% cap on the interest rate on credit cards, a lucrative business for many financial institutions, and his Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that many say threatens the institution that is supposed to set interest rates free of political interference.

Bank CEOs warned the White House on Tuesday that Trump’s actions will do more harm than good to the American economy. But in response, Trump did not back down on his proposals or attacks on the Fed.

BNY Chief Executive Officer Robin Vince told reporters that going after the Fed’s independence “doesn’t seem, to us, to be accomplishing the administration’s primary objectives for things like affordability, reducing the cost of borrowing, reducing the cost of mortgages, reducing the cost of everyday living for Americans.”

“Let’s not shake the foundation of the bond market and potentially do something that could cause interest rates to actually get pushed up, because somehow there’s lack of confidence in the Fed’s independence,” Vince added.

The Federal Reserve’s independence is sacrosanct among the big banks. While banks may have wanted Powell and other Fed policymakers to move interest rates one way or another more quickly, they have generally understood why Powell has done what he's done.

“I don’t agree with everything the Fed has done. I do have enormous respect for Jay Powell, the man,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told reporters Tuesday.

Dimon's message did not seem to resonate with President Trump, who told journalists that Dimon is wrong in saying it’s not a great idea to chip away at the Federal Reserve’s independence by going after Chair Jerome Powell.

“Yeah, I think it’s fine what I’m doing,” Trump said Tuesday in response to a reporter’s question at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a day trip to Michigan. He called Powell “a bad Fed person” who has “done a bad job.”

Along with the attacks on the Fed, President Trump is going after the credit card industry. With “affordability” likely to be a key issue in this year’s midterm elections, Trump wants to lower costs for consumers and says he wants a 10% cap on credit card interest rates in place by Jan. 20. Whether he hopes to accomplish this by bullying the credit card industry into just capping interest rates voluntarily, or through some sort of executive action, is unclear.

The average interest rate on credit cards is between 19.65% and 21.5%, according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. A cap of 10% would likely cost banks roughly $100 billion in lost revenue per year, researchers at Vanderbilt University found. Shares of credit card companies like American Express, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Capital One and others fell sharply Monday as investors worried about the potential hit to profits these banks may face if an interest rate cap were implemented.

In a call with reporters, JPMorgan’s Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Barnum indicated the industry was willing to fight with all resources at its disposal to stop the Trump administration from capping those rates. JPMorgan is one of the nation's biggest credit card companies, with its customers collectively holding $239.4 billion in balances with the bank, and having major co-brand partnerships with companies such as United Airlines and Amazon. JPMorgan also recently acquired the Apple Card credit card portfolio from Goldman Sachs.

“Our belief is that actions like this will have the exact opposite consequence to what the administration wants in terms of helping consumers,” Barnum said. “Instead of lowering the price of credit, it will simply reduce the supply of credit, and that will be bad for everyone: consumers, the broader economy, and yes, for us, also.”

Even the major airline and hotel partners who partner with banks to issue their cards were also not pleased with the White House's push to cap interest rates.

“I think one of the big issues and challenges with (a potential cap) is the fact that it would actually restrict the lower end consumer from having access to any credit, not just what the interest rate they’re paying, which would upend the whole credit card industry,” said Ed Bastion, CEO of Delta Air Lines, to analysts on Tuesday. Delta has a major partnership with American Express, and its co-brand credit card brings in billions of dollars in revenue for Delta.

Trump seemed to double down on his attacks on the credit card industry overnight. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, he said he endorsed a bill introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, that would likely cut into the revenue banks earn from merchants whenever they accept a credit card at point-of-sale.

“Everyone should support great Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s Credit Card Competition Act, in order to stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff,” Trump wrote.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was not going to back down the credit card interest rate issue.

“We should have lower rates. Jamie Dimon probably wants higher rates. Maybe he makes more money that way,” Trump said.

The comments from Wall Street are coming as the major banks report their quarterly results. JPMorgan, the nation’s largest consumer and investment bank, and The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., one of the world’s largest custodial banks, both reported their results Tuesday with Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others to report later this week.

President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, speaks at the America Business Forum, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, file)