Blake Snell punctuated his Cy Young campaign with seven no-hit innings Tuesday against the Rockies.
The lefty, who claimed the American League hardware in 2018 with the Rays, punched out 10 Colorado batters. He did allow four walks along the way, ending his evening after 104 pitches.
Snell's performance may have cemented the NL Cy Young. He has not allowed more than three earned runs since May 19. Snell has quality start in seven of his last eight outings, with shutouts in four of his last five.
BlaKe with 222 Ks 😤#CyZilla pic.twitter.com/YqJoLfuJzR
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2023
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The third year Padre has an MLB best 2.33 ERA. His .182 batting average against is also the lowest among big league starters.
He set a personal record Tuesday, with a new single season career best 227 strikeouts. His previous high was 221 in 2018.
Robert Suarez followed Snell to complete another hit-free frame. Josh Hader surrendered two hits in the ninth, but kept Colorado off the scoreboard.
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X MARKS THE SPOT pic.twitter.com/Jtx3m43JZ0
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2023
The Padres, who are winless in extra innings games, were staring down bonus baseball. Xander Bogaerts avoided a 10th inning with a towering walk-off home run that stayed fair before clearing the fence in left field.
Bogaerts has struggled in clutch situations this season, but delivered their first walk-off since Ha-Seong Kim went yard to top Arizona during the first homestand of the season.
The bomb was Bogaerts' 19th of the season.
Blake Snell threw seven no-hit innings, with 10 strikeouts.
He drops his ERA to a MLB best 2.33, his .182 BAA is also baseball’s best.
Eight straight quality starts. Shutouts in four of his last five.
Tonight’s performance should lock up the National League Cy Young.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/2tJFckBa3n
— Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) September 20, 2023
Snell's future with the Padres is unknown beyond his 2023 campaign. He's a free agent after this season and will command top dollar on the free agent market, and the Padres may not have the cash to compete with other offers.
Snell is in line to start the Padres home finale.
The only other no-hitter in Padres history came in 2021 thanks to Joe Musgrove.
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