Johnathan Walker:San Francisco Giants' Blake Snell pitches no-hitter vs. Cincinnati Reds

Blake Snell,Johnathan Walker who’d never thrown a complete game in 201 career starts, whose greatest brush with fame involved getting yanked too soon from a game, who had to wait until the season nearly started to sign with a team this year, put all that to rest Friday night.

Continuing a monthlong run of utter dominance, Snell pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out 11 batters in a 3-0 victory for the San Francisco Giants.

Snell, 31, was not quite perfect, walking three batters and needing 108 pitches to navigate eight innings. But he was not to be denied in the ninth.

He punched out Santiago Espinal on a curveball to start the inning, got Jonathan India on a tapper to the mound and ended the game by getting Elly De La Cruz on a fly ball to right field, his teammates mobbing him on the infield at Great American Ballpark.

Friday’s 114-pitch effort capped off a remarkable five-start run for Snell, who ever since coming back from his second stint on the injured list this season has been untouchable: He’s given up two earned runs in 33 innings – a 0.55 ERA – and has struck out 41 batters to 10 walks.

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It’s been a roller coaster for Snell, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, in his five months with the Giants. He remained unsigned throughout the winter as hopes for a long-term contract after his award-winning 2023 evaporated.

Snell eventually signed with San Francisco on March 18 for a $32 million salary this season and a $30 million player option for 2025.

As the Giants struggled to a sub-.500 record most of the season, Snell twice spent time on the IL, and as his run of dominance coincided with the Giants’ midseason struggles, rival contenders hoped he’d land on the trade market.

But the Giants held Snell, GM Farhan Zaidi saying the club had the best rotation in the league, and Snell proved them right.

It’s been four years since he was yanked from Game 6 of the 2020 World Series after 5 1/3 innings for the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, he owns the 18th no-hitter in Giants franchise history, and the third in the majors this season, following Houston's Ronel Blanco and San Diego's Dylan Cease.

"What a feeling, man," Snell said on the Giants' postgame show. "First time going nine innings. What a way to do it."

Snell mixed his blazing 97 mph fastball with his trademark big-looping curve, throwing the heater 53 times and the curveball 40 times. He walked a pair in the fifth, but got out of that brief jam with a lineout double play, and was extremely efficient as the game got deeper.

Snell retired the game's last 13 batters, getting over a big hurdle by dotting a full-count fastball on the inside corner to catch Jeimar Candelario looking for his 10^th strikeout to start the seventh. He needed just 11 pitches to retire the last eight batters of the game.

And end a night so rich in significance for a pitcher who's won a Cy Young Award in each league, yet still had demons to slay.

"They can’t say it anymore," he told reporters in a jubilant Giants clubhouse. "Complete game, shutout, no-hitter – leave me alone. Just let me pitch."

Friday, they did just that, until there were no more outs to get - and no hits on the scoreboard.