While Gabe Kapler has been focusing a lot of the 2023 Giants campaign on his local instagram food brand, Alex Cobb didn't hear no bell on the season after pitching a brilliant one-hitter on Tuesday evening. The Giants defeated the Reds and moved back into that second wildcard spot in the National League - I liked it when the MLB only had eight teams make the playoffs as a whole, but that's a story for a different day.
The Boston native has been battling all year on this Giants roster, not exactly putting up a Tim Lincecum 2009 like season, but still racking up some solid innings pitched with 141.1 over his 25 season starts with a sub-4.00 ERA. The perpetually mediocre Cincinnati Reds came to town Monday night for a 3-gamer, and Cobb brought his STUFF for his big start Tuesday, throwing the game of his life in a 131 pitch masterpiece in a complete game 6-1 victory in San Francisco.
He was locating his fastball, inducing groundouts with the splitter coming in the 89-90 mph range, and after Austin Slater made that diving catch to end the 8th, it was feeling like a no-no kind of a night. But that was not to be...
With two outs and a man on second after only his second walk of the evening, Spencer Steere from the Reds walked up to the plate just looking to put a damn ball in play, and ended up finding a pitch he could drive into right centerfield. Luis Matos took a bit too direct of an angle at the ball and it went just out of the reach of his glove for a double, and the dream of the no-no had vanished. Not the easiest play, but you gotta see that ball is on more of a line than you think and open up with your left leg at a steeper angle than he had it - another reason why it's advantageous to have a left handed thrower playing right field as well with better coverage capability in that right-center gap.
If I'm Cobb, I'm pissed. Throwing a no-hitter is one of the most legendary things one can do in all of professional sports - there is nothing like it in basketball, football, or hockey - you can score 50 in basketball, score 5 goals in hockey, and throw for 500 in football, but there will never be a championship like celebration for a normal regular season game like there is with a no-hitter or perfect game in baseball. And for a pitcher who is not a household name by any means, no direct shot there intended at Alex, to be able to say 'I threw a no-hitter in the big leagues' is potentially the coolest thing a guy can say if one is to play professional sports.
Credit to him for an outstanding performance - as a guy whose watched every pitch of the season this year for the Giants, I can say the dude has been throwing the ball well, and I could kind of see this coming - he was due for his breakout performance, and tonight he got it. Hope our Giants guy the Red Rhino and HellaTI were able to enjoy and were there in attendance this evening, what a night to be out at Oracle. Gabe Kapler is going to have himself one hell of a night at one of his favorite eateries after this! Dude is such a foodie, what a hip and cool manager he is for this city!
P.S. Gabe was still on the '04 Red Sox team, so it's all love.
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