CHICAGO — Christopher Morel of the Chicago Cubs led off the eighth inning with a bloop single against reliever Eduardo Salazar, ending the Cincinnati Reds‘ no-hit bid Friday that began with six dominant innings by Hunter Greene.
Greene, winless in his first 10 starts, tied a career high with 11 strikeouts and walked two. The right-hander threw 110 pitches before handing off to Salazar, who retired all three batters in the seventh.
Morel hit a soft line drive on Salazar’s first pitch of the eighth inning, and the ball easily dropped into center field.
Chicago’s Nico Hoerner hit a fly to the left-field warning track in the sixth inning. But the Cubs hadn’t hit many balls hard. They trailed 7-0 after 7 1/2 innings.
There have been 17 no-hitters by Cincinnati. The first was thrown by Charles “Bumpus” Jones on Oct. 15, 1892. The most recent one was on May 7, 2021, when 34-year-old Wade Miley threw a complete game against Cleveland, becoming the oldest pitcher in Reds history to throw a no-hitter.
There have been no no-hitters in the majors this season, the first since Major League Baseball introduced a pitch clock. There were a record nine no-hitters in 2021 and four last year.
