Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas threw a gem for the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night in the second leg of a doubleheader against the Pirates, but came one strike away from etching his name in the record books. .
With two outs remaining in the top of the ninth inning, in a 9-1 game, Mikolas allowed a deep drive to center field off Pirates right fielder Cal Mitchell’s bat that went over the head of the lanky center fielder Harrison Bader on a ground ball. double rule and ended Mikolas’s offer.
Mikolas was subsequently removed from the game by Packy Naughton, after throwing over 129 pitches, a career high.
After the match, Mikolas was somewhat regretful.
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“Yeah, it sucks a little bit not finishing that,” he said after the game. “I don’t have one yet, I have friends who do, it would have been nice to join that conversation. But I can’t say enough about our defense tonight. We were everywhere we needed to be and making fantastic plays.” the whole game, and I feel like I like them after all the great defense I got today.”
Miles Mikolas, after missing the no-no in Tuesday’s win against the Pirates: “It kind of sucks not finishing that… I can’t say enough about our defense tonight. We were everywhere we needed to be. .. I’m sorry I let you down.” #STLCards pic.twitter.com/rt2AY0g0Sw
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) June 15, 2022
Mikolas wasn’t lying about that great defense. The Cardinals seemed to be where they needed to be every at-bat, and it translated into a relatively stress-free game for the most part.
Who was the last pitcher to lose a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth?
Mikolas is the first pitcher to lose a no-hitter with one out to left since Sean Newcomb came in on July 29, 2018. Newcomb went 8 2/3 hitless before the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor could get a hit. .
On August 4, 1989, the Blue Jays’ Dave Stieb lost a no-hitter in much the same way, allowing a double to Roberto Kelly with one strike to go against the New York Yankees.
According to Stew Thronley, who conducted a study related to no-hitters before the ninth inning, dating back to 1961, “approximately 50 percent of no-hitters carried into the ninth went through the ninth. After the first out of the ninth is recorded, the percentage rises to between 60 and 65 percent. And no-hitters that are still alive with two outs in the ninth have a survival rate of nearly 80 percent.”
So while likely, a no-no is nowhere near a foregone conclusion, even with only one batter to retire.
Despite this being an unfortunate end for Mikolas, he is not alone. He is the 57th pitcher to lose a no-hitter with two strikes.
Among Cardinals players, current Red Sox pitcher Michael Wacha nearly went the distance on September 24, 2013 before giving up a hit to the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman. Alan Benes is the third and final Cardinals pitcher to lose a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth.
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Mikolas said throwing as many pitches as he did wasn’t a problem, he just tried to do too much.
“Curveball has been pretty good all day,” he said. “And maybe he tried to take him down a little bit, he left him up a little bit. Guy gave him a good hit.”
There have been two no-hitters so far this year, one a combined effort by the New York Mets and one by the Angels’ Reid Detmers. Despite missing his chance to join the third, Mikolas helped the Cardinals sweep the doubleheader and move to 37-27 on the year.
Source: www.sportingnews.com