Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas falls one out shy of no-hitter vs. Pirates

Nationals

Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas falls one out shy of no-hitter vs. Pirates

Miles Mikolas came within one strike – and a few inches – of tossing a no-hitter at Busch Stadium on Tuesday.

However, Cal Mitchell had other plans.

With two outs and facing a 2-2 count in the top of the ninth, Mitchell ended Mikolas’ no-hit bid with a ground-rule double just over the outstretched arm of Harrison Bader:

Mikolas was removed from the game immediately after and Packy Naughton came in to close out a 9-1 win for the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

There have already been three no-hitters in Major League Baseball this season and one complete-game no-no, which belongs to Los Angeles Angels starter Reid Detmers. The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds also pulled off combined no-hitters. The Cardinals entered the game with nine no-hitters in franchise history and none since Bud Smith pulled it off on Sept. 3, 2001.

On the other end, Mitchell’s double was the only thing that kept the Pirates from getting no-hit for the second time in less than a month. They scored in that game thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice and pulled out a 1-0 win over the Reds on May 15.

Pittsburgh got a run off Mikolas on Tuesday well before getting a hit. Bryan Reynolds reached on an error from Juan Yepez to start the fourth inning. He then advanced to third on a Jack Suwinski groundout and scored on a Daniel Vogelbach groundout, giving Mikolas an unearned run.

The Pirates’ run was not an issue for Mikolas or the Cardinals, who provided plenty of offensive help in the win. Paul Goldschmidt led the charge, going 4-for-4 with two home runs in the first two innings to go along with five RBIs.

Along with the one in the runs column and zero in the hits column, another notable number for Mikolas was his pitch count. His final pitch of the eighth inning was his 115th of the ballgame, which matched a career high. Still, the Cardinals did not have anyone in the bullpen and left it to Mikolas to make history.

Mikolas got Michael Perez and Tucupita Marcano out to start the ninth. Mitchell’s double came on Mikolas’ 129th and final pitch of the game.

Though Mikolas fell just shy of history, it was still a successful day for him and the Cards. St. Louis swept its Tuesday doubleheader, beating Pittsburgh 3-1 earlier in the day.