I awoke to the news that Oakland A's pitcher Mike Fiers threw his second career no-hitter shutting down the Cincinnati Reds 2-0. Fiers, who turns 34 next month, threw his previous no-hitter in 2015 while a member of the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers. So both of his no-hitters were tossed during interleague games. It was also the 300th no-hitter in MLB history. Fiers is the 35th pitcher to throw at least two big league no-nos.
Fiers was helped by his defense most notably by center fielder Ramon Laureano robbing Joey Votto of a home run and second baseman Jurickson Profar making a diving catch on a bloop hit by Reds catcher Kyle Farmer. The game was also notable because it was delayed for more than 90 minutes due to a power outage with the stadium lights in Oakland.
Fiers also entered the game with an ERA of 6.81. His career is something of an enigma. Now in his ninth big league season, Fiers has gone 57-58 with a 4.11 ERA with the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and now the A's. His best season came last year which he split with the Tigers and the A's during which he went 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA in 30 starts. It's hard to know what you'll get from Fiers from start to start. In 162 big league starts, he has only two complete games - both no-hitters. If not for those no-hitters, Fiers would be just another arm on the mound. Even if Fiers ends his career as a .500 pitcher he will have had two moments under the lights. Most of us are lucky to have one.
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