Homer Bailey Joins 2004 Draft No-Hitter Club

The magical season for the Reds continued Friday night as Homer Bailey tossed a no-hitter against the Pirates. The Reds have already clinched the Central and are tied with the Nationals for the best record in the National League. Bailey zipped through the Pirates line-up striking out 10 on 115 pitches. Clint Barmes reached first base on an error in the bottom of the third inning and Andrew McCutchen walked in the seventh inning to account for the only baserunning Pirates. McCutchen made the most of his opportunity by stealing second base before being thrown out at third.

The Pirates were confused by white, leather ball being flung at them by Bailey as they have been for most of the second half on the season. After 100 games, the Pirates were 58-42 and in the thick of the playoff hunt. Then, as usual, somebody alerted the team that they were indeed the Pittsburgh Pirates and they promptly went 18-39. Their next loss with give the Pirates 483 consecutive losing seasons. When reached for comment about the collapse, manager Clint Hurdle made a fart noise with his mouth.

Back to Bailey, he is the fourth first round draft pick from 2004 to throw a no-hitter and the third this season. That's pretty remarkable. If it didn't sound like a lot of work, I would try to see if that is a record. Let's just assume it is. Justin Verlander, the second overall pick, was the first to get on the board. Verlander no-hit the Brewers on June 12, 2007 and picked up his second against the Blue Jays on May 7, 2011. Philip Humber, third overall, and his career 4.87 ERA over 316.1 major league innings threw the unlikely perfect game against the Mariners on April 21, 2012. Jered Weaver, the 12th pick, was next this season throwing his no-hitter against the Twins on May 2. Bailey was the seventh pick in 2004 and, after his performance on September 28, gets to learn the secret handshake.

While I realize I'm being selfish and they're still in the playoff hunt, I would really appreciate it if the Rays would slap some duct tape on Jeff Neimann's leg and get him another start before the season ends. Neimann was the fourth overall pick in 2004.