Sporty.com | Giants’ Blake Snell throws no-hitter against Reds

San Francisco Giants left-hander Blake Snell threw his first career no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner threw 78 of his 114 pitches for strikes, striking out 11 batters and allowing three walks.

Snell also recorded the first complete game of his career, pitching into the ninth inning for the first time in his 202 career starts, and his first win in a Giants uniform.

Tyler Fitzgerald and Casey Schmitt each homered for San Francisco, who have won six of their last seven.

Snell’s no-hitter was the 18th in Giants franchise history, with the most recent coming in 2015 from Chris Heston.

Snell threw the third no-no in the major leagues this season, joining Ronel Blanco of the Houston Astros and Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres.

Blake Snell had never thrown a pitch in the 9th inning ... until tonight. pic.twitter.com/8YwFLPbpmb
— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2024

Snell was one of the most celebrated off-season moves when he signed a two-year, $62million deal with San Francisco, but he made just his 11th start of the season on Friday due to two stints on the injured list.

Snell’s first three starts with the Giants were a disaster, saddling him with an 0-3 record and an 11.57 ERA. Since returning from his most recent IL stint, however, he has allowed just 2 runs in 33 innings, and batters are hitting .078 against him over that five-game stretch.

MLB-leading Guardians extend streak to 5

Josh Naylor had three hits and a pair of RBIs, Austin Hedges drove in two runs and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 to extend their winning streak to five games.

During their hot streak, the Guardians have overtaken the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the major leagues, and Friday’s win improved Cleveland’s record to 67-42.

All nine starting position players reached base at least once for the Guardians’ balanced offensive attack.

Cleveland broke the game open by tagging Baltimore reliever Gregory Soto for four runs in the sixth inning. The insurance proved necessary as the O’s put up a three-run seventh against Scott Barlow.

Baltimore managed just four hits but drew six walks, including two by third baseman Coby Mayo, who made his major league debut on Friday.

Judge gets 40th HR, 100th RBI in loss

The Toronto Blue Jays overcame a milestone night from Aaron Judge to beat the New York Yankees 8-5.

Judge launched a first-inning pitch from Kevin Gausman 477 feet into the left field bleachers for his MLB-leading 40th home run of the season. The 2022 AL MVP also collected his 100th and 101st RBIs on the blast.

Judge appears well on his way to a second MVP award, with his batting average (.316) and slugging percentage (.689) both higher this season than his 62-home run campaign two years ago.

Friday’s home run was the 296th of Judge’s 918-game career. Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner reached the 300-home run club the fastest in MLB history, needing 1,087 games to hit the milestone.