No No-No!Visiting Reds No-Hit Pirates, Lose 1-0; Pirates Batted In 8 Innings, So It's Not Official No-Hitter

Reds    - 000 000 000 - 0  4  0
Pirates - 000 000 01x - 1  0  0

The Pirates did not have a hit on Sunday, but because they were the home team and scored a run in the eighth inning (three walks and a one-out fielder's choice), they did not have to bat in the ninth. Therefore, this game is not an official no-hitter.

This is extremely stupid. The game was played to an official completion and the Reds, although they lost, did not allow a hit . . . so that's a no-hitter. It's pretty much the definition of a no-hitter. It should be added to the official list, with a notation that the no-hit team batted in only eight innings. (It was the sixth time since 1901 that a team won despite not getting any hits.)

Hunter Greene is the first Reds pitcher removed in the eighth inning or later while in the midst of a no-hitter since Johnny Klippstein (7-0-1-7-4; he was pinch-hit for in the top of the eighth), on May 26, 1956. The Reds lost to Milwaukee 2-1 in 11 innings. Milwaukee finished with three hits, one in the 10th and two in the 11th.

On April 23, 1964, the Reds were no-hit and beat the Houston Colt .45s 1-0, thanks to an unearned run in the ninth. Ken Johnson's no-hitter was official because the Reds were the visiting team, so Houston batted nine times.

Other unofficial no-hitters, because the home team did not bat in the 9th (with the pitcher(s) throwing the no-hitter):

Chicago vs Brooklyn, June 21, 1890 (Charles King)
Yankees at White Sox, July 1, 1990 (Andy Hawkins)
Red Sox at Indians, April 12, 1992 (Matt Young)
Angels at Dodgers, June 28, 2008 (Jered Weaver (6), Jose Arredondo (2))

Also yesterday:

The Yankees were the first team to score 5+ runs on two or fewer hits since the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 5-1 on September 4, 2004. The only other qualifying Yankees game came on June 8, 1952 when they beat the Browns 5-2. They had only two hits, but St. Louis committed five errors and issued seven walks.

The Mets hit three triples but lost to the Mariners 8-7. The last time the Mets lost despite having three triples was nearly 41 years ago (August 20, 1981).

Albert Pujols pitched an inning for the Cardinals at age 42. He took the mound against the Giants in the top of the ninth with the Cardinals up 15-2. He faced seven batters in the inning, allowed three hits (including two home runs), a walk, and four runs. Pujols had two outs and two men on, so he was nearly out of trouble, but that was when he allowed the two dongs to San Francisco's #8 and #9 batters, left fielder Luis Gonzalez (who also pitched (1.1 innings, 1 hit)) and catcher Joey Bart.