Miles Mikolas came about as close as possible to throwing a no-hitter on Tuesday night, as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a final of 9-1.
Mikolas was one strike away from retiring Pirates outfielder Cal Mitchell and finishing the job, but Mitchell lined one just out of Harrison Bader‘s reach to break up the no-no.
The no-hitter was gone, but that didn’t mean that the fans inside Busch Stadium weren’t going to recognize their starter’s dominance.
As manager Oli Marmol came out to the mound to pull Mikolas, Cardinals fans erupted.
The Cardinals themselves tweeted a video of Mikolas’ ovation as he walked off the mound and tipped his cap to Cardinal Nation.
"This place is about to get loud, really loud for Miles Mikolas!" 🎙️ @DannyMacTV pic.twitter.com/htRMU7w1Jj
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 15, 2022
A Tip Of The Cap
What a performance by Mikolas.
He came to within one strike of throwing the first Cardinals no-hitter since Bud Smith did it in 2001 against the San Diego Padres.
The fans at Busch Stadium are always quick to appreciate great performances, even if they come from the other side, so it’s great to see them get excited for Mikolas as he walked off the mound.
He gave them everything he had and did all he could to make some history for the Cardinals and their fans.
The fans certainly knew Mikolas was disappointed that he didn’t finish the job, but that didn’t matter to them.
They made sure to appreciate the work he did, even if he wasn’t able to put a bow on the no-no.
The 33-year-old right-hander was absolutely phenomenal for the Cards last night and his standing ovation was well-deserved.
He was the story of last night’s game and guided the Cardinals to a very important victory, one that put them 10 games above the .500 mark and helped them pad their lead in the NL Central.
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