Wade Miley tosses 4th no-hitter of MLB season as Cincinnati blanks Cleveland

Wade Miley pitched baseball's second no-hitter in three days — and fourth already this season — leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 win Friday night over Cleveland, who were no-hit for the second time in a month.

Miley (4-2) relied on breaking pitches and his experience of 11-plus major league seasons to baffle Cleveland's batters and throw Cincinnati's first no-hitter since Homer Bailey in 2013.

"It feels surreal," the 34-year-old said.

San Diego's Joe Musgrove started the '21 no-hitter club by throwing the first in Padres' history on April 9. Five days later, Chicago White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon blanked Cleveland, just missing a perfect game when he hit a batter in the ninth inning.

Arizona's Madison Bumgarner pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against Atlanta on April 25, but that one isn't recognized as official because it didn't go nine innings.

This is the earliest in a calendar year there have been four no-hitters since 1917, when the fourth was thrown on May 5 and the fifth on May 6. It's no wonder, with hitters entering Friday batting a record-low .233 this season.

For their part, Cleveland joined a dubious list by becoming the 17th team to be no-hit twice in the same season. It most recently happened to Seattle in 2019.

Miley walked one and struck out eight on 114 pitches.

"He put on a clinic," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.

While Miley was blanking Cleveland, Zach Plesac did the same to the Reds for eight innings before Cincinnati pushed three runs across in the ninth, helped by closer Emmanuel Clase's throwing error and a balk.

The Reds got a pair of singles before Clase (2-1) fielded an infield tapper and threw wide of second base, allowing Nick Senzel to score from second. Then, with runners at the corners, Clase began his windup before stopping and tried to throw to second.

Mike Moustakas, starting at first for the injured Joey Votto, followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0 and give Miley more cushion — but also more tome to think about it in the dugout.

In the ninth, Miley retired pinch-hitter Rene Rivera on a lazy fly to right, struck out Cesar Hernandez and then retired Jordan Luplow on a grounder to third before he was mobbed by the Reds, who encircled him and danced across the grass.

Miley came in just 1-4 in eight career starts against Cleveland, who were batting only .213 as a team. But Cleveland has been as hot as any team, riding a five-game winning streak and winning nine of 11 to take over first in the AL Central.

He coasted through five inning and didn't allow a baserunner until the sixth, when Cleveland's Amed Rosario reached on second baseman Senzel's fielding error and then went to second on his throwing error.

Miley also allowed a walk in the inning, but regrouped by getting Luplow on a liner to left.

Franmil Reyes came the closest to getting a hit for Cleveland, but his hard smash in the fifth inning was right at shortstop Kyle Farmer, who knocked it down and had plenty of time to throw out the slow-footed slugger.

It was the Reds' 17th no-hitter since 1892.

"For something like this to happen, I don't have the words," Miley said.