Athletics starter Mike Fiers tossed his second career no-hitter, holding the Reds’ offense at bay on Tuesday night in Oakland. The right-hander yielded just two walks while striking out six on 131 pitches. Interestingly, the game was delayed due to a lighting malfunction in left field.
Fiers was in danger of losing his no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning, when Joey Votto skied a fly ball to left-center field. Center fielder Ramón Laureano, however, jumped at the wall and caught the ball, robbing Votto of a home run. The A’s went on to win 2-0, with Jurickson Profar providing both runs. He knocked in a run with a double in the second inning and hit a solo homer in the seventh.
Fiers previously threw a no-hitter on August 21, 2015 for the Astros against the Dodgers. He’s the 31st pitcher with multiple no-hitters to his name. He has the first no-hitter of the 2019 season and the first since James Paxton — then a Mariner — no-hit the Blue Jays on this same day last year. Fiers is the first member of the A’s to throw a no-hitter since Sean Manaea on April 21 last year against the Red Sox. The Reds were last victims of a no-hitter on April 21, 2016, when the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta accomplished the feat.
After Tuesday’s performance, Fiers is 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA and a 34/13 K/BB ratio in 46 innings. The no-hitter aside, Fiers hasn’t quite pitched as well as the last-place A’s hoped when they inked him to a two-year, $14.1 million contract in December.
