Homer Bailey made history on Friday night, tossing the seventh no-hitter in major league baseball this year.
The Cincinatti Reds right-hander shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates, getting Alex Presley to pop up for the final out before starting to celebrate with his teammates.
The first player to embrace Bailey was his catcher, Ryan Hanigan. But while the backstop deserves a little bit of credit for the game he called, he also threatened to start Bailey off on the wrong foot when the game began.
As the Reds took the field in the bottom of the first inning, Bailey was greeted by a startling sight on the mound: nobody. No one was there to catch his warm-up pitches.
Hanigan, who bats eighth for the Reds, was three batters away from being up when the first inning ended. However, for whatever reason, he took his time walking out to the plate and as a result did not get Bailey warmed up properly.
No matter. Bailey only allowed two baserunners — one by walk and one on an error by Scott Rolen — while tossing 115 pitches in his complete-game effort.
After all that drama, things turned out pretty swell for Bailey in the end. So much so, that maybe he'll ask his catcher to leave him hanging the next time he goes out there. After all, Johnny van der Meer's record isn't going to fall without some sort of magic in play.
Check out the video below to see the inauspicious start to Bailey's no-hitter.
Photo of the Night
Golf, the gentleman's sport.
Quote of the Night
"You don't have any tools out there. You've just got to go with what's in your pants."
— Europe's Nico Colsaerts, describing what it's like playing in the Ryder Cup
Tweet of the Night
You tell 'em, Hootie.
Big ups to Reds pitcher Homer Bailey. No hits the pirates. Go Reds
— Darius Rucker (@dariusrucker) September 29, 2012
Video of the Night
Too bad this is going to get overshadowed by another no-hitter.
