Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey is mobbed by his teammates after his no-hitter. (AP-Yonhap News)
CINCINNATI (AP) ― Homer Bailey fretted for a moment as first baseman Joey Votto reached to pluck the ball out of the air for the final out. What next? Raise both arms in celebration.
Bailey has this no-hitter celebration down pat ― just like his idol, Nolan Ryan.
Another hard-throwin’ Texan who wears No. 34 made some no-hit history Tuesday night. Bailey threw his second in 10 months and led the Cincinnati Reds’ infield celebration with arms raised after a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
There was a bit of been-there, done-that in the humid night air.
“It’s something I’ve already done, so I knew what to expect,” Bailey said of his easy-as-could-be step into rare territory.
Bailey became the third Reds pitcher with more than one no-hitter, joining Jim Maloney and Johnny Vander Meer ― still the only big leaguer to toss two in a row. Bailey beat the Pirates 1-0 in Pittsburgh last Sept. 28 and got another 17 starts later.
This one was at home with 27,509 fans standing and chanting “Homer! Homer!” as he finished it off in a tidy 102 pitches with one walk and nine strikeouts.
The defending World Series champions had only one moment when they thought they might get a hit.
“It was a pretty easy no-hitter,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We didn’t hit too many balls hard. There weren’t any tough plays. We only hit a couple balls decent. He was really overmatching us all night.”
Yes, it was reminiscent of that Hall of Famer from Texas who holds the record with seven no-hitters. And they now have more than just their home state in common.
Bailey threw the last of the majors’ seven no-hitters last season, and now the first of 2013.
NY Yankees 7, Minnesota 3
LA Dodgers 8, Colorado 0
Milwaukee 4, Washington 0
Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 1
Detroit 7, Toronto 6
Boston 4, San Diego 1
Atlanta 11, Miami 3
NY Mets 9, Arizona 1
Seattle 9, Texas 2
Chicago White Sox 5, Baltimore 2
Cleveland 6, Kansas City 5
Tampa Bay 8, Houston 0
LA Angels 5, St. Louis 1
Oakland 8, Chicago Cubs 7