While he couldn’t quite finish the job, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas came about as close to throwing a no-hitter as is humanly possible.

Mikolas entered the ninth inning three outs short of a no-no. The Pittsburgh Pirates had scored a run off of him, but it was unearned, as Bryan Reynolds reached on an error, then was brought around to score on a pair of groundouts. Mikolas retired Michael Perez and Tucupita Marcano to start the ninth. Then, after falling behind 2-0, got the count back to 2-2 to Cal Mitchell, leaving Mikolas one strike away from a no-hitter. It didn’t happen.

Mitchell hit a fly ball to deep centerfield. It initially seemed like Harrison Bader had a play on the ball but he couldn’t quite track it down.

Mikolas summed up the near no-hitter succinctly.

He was not the only one to feel that way.

While the lost no-hitter might leave a bitter taste for the Cardinals and their fans, Tuesday was a great day for them. Mikolas’ outing helped St. Louis to a 9-1 victory in what was Game 2 of a double header. The Cardinals defeated the Pirates 3-1 in the first game. Paul Goldschmidt was a constant catalyst, wearing out Pittsburgh’s pitching staff in both ends of the doubleheader sweep.

[Talkin’ Baseball, Bob Nightengale]

About Michael Dixon

Michael is a writer and editor for The Comeback Media. Fan of most sports and a total nerd when it comes to sports history. Michael spent most of his life in the Bay Area, but lived in Arizona for 2 years and moved to Indiana in April, 2023.

Other loves include good tacos, pizza and obscure Seinfeld quotes.

Feel free to voice your agreements or disagreements. If you do so respectfully, Michael will gladly respond in kind.

Twitter: @mfdixon1985
Email: mdixon@thecomeback.com