Miles Mikolas gave the St. Louis Cardinals one of his best performances yet since joining them in 2018, taking a no-hitter all the way to the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Backed by a huge game from Paul Goldschmidt, Mikolas cruised through the game, keeping the Pirates’ hitters off balance and carving his way through their lineup.
In the top of the ninth, Mikolas came to within one strike of finishing off the game with a no-hitter.
Only Cal Mitchell stood in the way.
However, Mitchell hit one just out of the reach of Gold Glove center fielder Harrison Bader to break up the no-no.
Talkin’ Baseball, an MLB fan page, tweeted a video of Mitchell’s hit and how it barely got over Bader’s head.
Miles Mikolas loses a no hitter with two strikes in the 9th inning pic.twitter.com/GuPSZSAt8v
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 15, 2022
Almost!
Mikolas deserves a ton of credit for pitching the way he did.
He gave the Cardinals all he had last night.
This is a guy that came up in 2012 with the San Diego Padres and never really found his groove.
After a stop with the Texas Rangers, he went to play in Japan for a few years before signing with the Cards.
He’s been a solid pickup for St. Louis but has dealt with his share of injuries.
But now, he’s back and healthy and pitching just like he did in 2018 when he led the team in wins.
This is about as close as you can come to reaching history.
You have to feel for him after he was unable to finish the job, but he still deserves praise for giving the Cardinals such a great performance.
At the end of the night, the Busch Stadium faithful gave him a well-deserved standing ovation as he walked off the mound.
St. Louis won by a final of 9-1, but the story of the game was Mikolas.
NEXT: Cardinals Showed Off A Genius Baserunning Play To Add A Run