HOMER BAILEY RECORDED the season’s seventh no-hitter as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 last night.
Bailey, who also became the Reds’ first no-hitter since Tom Browning in 1988 and the 16th in their history, struck out 10 Pirates players at PNC Park.
The play-off-bound Reds hit the game’s only run in the opening inning through Brandon Phillips. St Louis Cardinals routed the Washington Nationals 12-2 on the back of nine runs during the first two innings at Busch Stadium.
Matt Carpenter scored three runs, while Yadier Molina, Allen Craig and Jon Jay added two runs each.
Elsewhere in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies fell out of play-off contention following their 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins, a three-run homer from Lucas Duda inspired the New York Mets to a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves and Houston’s 7-6 win against Milwaukee ended the Brewers play-off hopes.
Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated from post-season contention despite running out comfortable 8-3 winners against the Chicago Cubs, the San Francisco Giants edged the San Diego Padres 3-1, while the Los Angeles Dodgers kept the Colorado Rockies scoreless in an 8-0 thumping on Friday.
The Chicago White Sox snapped the Tampa Bay Rays’ eight-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory at US Cellular Field. The White Sox are now within a game of top spot in the American League Central division following the Detroit Tigers’ 4-2 loss against the Minnesota Twins. Russel Martin’s three-run homer helped the New York Yankees to a dominant 11-4 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Eric Chavez chipped in with a two-run shot as the Yankees consolidated their lead atop of the AL East division, which stands at a solitary game. In other American League results, the Baltimore Orioles hammered the hapless Boston Red Sox 9-1 and interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. claimed his first victory as the Cleveland Indians ran out 8-5 victors against the Kansas City Royals.
Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver became the first AL pitcher to secure 20 wins during their 7-4 win in Texas, while the Seattle Mariners toppled the Oakland Athletics 8-2.
