SF Giants’ Alex Cobb comes within one out of a no-hitter against Reds

SF Giants’ Alex Cobb was one out away from a no-hitter

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As dusk turned to night, the blue supermoon rose over the horizon at McCovey Cove, a lunar event so rare that it isn’t expected to happen again until 2037. So two rarities in one night would have been incredible.

That could be used to justify Alex Cobb’s loss of a rare no-hitter at the worst possible time. This night didn’t allow for more than one rarity.

Cobb’s performance, however, was outstanding. On Tuesday night, the San Francisco Giants’ starter was one out of a no-hitter in a 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park. His dependable splitter, which guided him through 8 2/3 hitless innings, let him down only once, against Spencer Steer, who nailed a double off the brick wall to score a walked batter from second base.

Cobb had to pitch out of the stretch twice this night, which could explain the bad luck.

“It’s still entertaining. I wasn’t upset. Sad. “It was just, okay, let’s finish it,” Cobb said. “So many things have to go right in order for that to happen.”

Cobb got the final out on his 131st pitch, striking out Elly De La Cruz to complete the game with a one-hit shutout. He struck out eight batters, seven of whom were on his splitter. When TJ Friedl’s sharp ground ball steered foul and out before the first hit, manager Gabe Kapler noticed Cobb smile “for the first time on a field”; days away from turning 36, Cobb was just happy that he still has some milestones left in the tank.

“There have been so many moments, ups and downs, throughout my career where I just didn’t want to play anymore,” Cobb explained. “Overcoming injuries and the mental and physical toll it takes was difficult.” It’s special to have those thoughts, and you can keep accumulating all these memories for the rest of your life.”

Cobb gave a Giants team that is often adamant about maintaining and monitoring pitch counts and workload one night to just let go. The only activity in the bullpen was his teammates pressing up against the fence to watch their teammate attempt history.

Cobb needed a lot of things to go right for him to get close to history. The first was a deceptive scoreboard change that changed Nick Senzel’s hit in the third inning to an error on third baseman Casey Schmitt, who wrangled and hurled a tricky ground ball down the line to first baseman J.D. Davis a second after Senzel reached base. Until the ninth inning, Senzel was the only Red to reach base.

Cobb didn’t notice the scoreboard change or that he had a no-hitter until the seventh inning, when he heard the crowd cheer “uncharacteristically loud” during a full-count, two-out pitch to Nick Martini that drew a groundout to first baseman JD Davis.

“I was thinking about trying to throw a one-hitter and then challenge the play and get a no-hitter in a week,” Cobb explained. “Then I noticed it, but it allowed me to ignore any pressure on pitches to keep the no-hitter intact.” I was able to go out there and attack the zone without being concerned.”

Then something else went right. The gravity-defying defensive gem — a no-hitter signature — was delivered by Austin Slater. Slater threw his entire body out to catch a shallow fly ball from Will Benson that came just inches from the grass with two outs in the eighth inning. Cobb was hoping shortstop Paul DeJong would come back in time, but Slater wasn’t going to let the ball go.

“I thought, well, I’m diving anyway, so I might as well keep going after it,” Slater explained. “I desperately wanted it for Cobber.” I was well aware of the stakes.

The Reds challenged the call, and Slater was so sure he caught it clean that he spent the review period putting on his batting gloves to start the next inning. The crowd erupted when New York confirmed the call.

Most importantly, Cobb’s pitches were humming. Specifically, his splitter, which he threw 83 times and produced 18 swing-and-misses. Patrick Bailey framed several sinkers and splitters for borderline strike calls while also hitting a two-run home run to provide much-needed run support for Cobb.

The no-hitter had all the right ingredients but lacked the official stamp to prove it. Cobb’s complete game saved the bullpen for Logan Webb on the mound and a chance to sweep the Reds on Wednesday afternoon, but no one in the Giants clubhouse was slouching. Following seven straight series losses, the Giants won a big one against a wild card contender fighting for a spot.