SAN FRANCISCO — Afterward, having come oh-so-close to pitching a no-hitter with his family in the stands willing it to happen, Alex Cobb took a moment to thank center fielder Austin Slater for the sensational diving catch that preserved the bid.
Cobb did the same with Giants manager Gabe Kapler, offering up some gratitude for being given the opportunity. Kapler stuck with Cobb even as his pitch count went higher than it had ever been.
Cobb came within one out of a no-hitter before Spencer Steer doubled with two outs in the ninth inning of San Francisco’s 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, settling for a spectacular complete game. His 131 pitches were the most in his career and the most by any pitcher in the majors this season, and 83 were for strikes.
“Still right now, this is surreal,” Cobb said. “In the moment, I was just focused on the delivery and the game plan and executing pitches, and then it started to become real. Had some cool thoughts going on in my mind of having my family here and thanking them. It was special, for sure.”
Cobb nearly notched the majors’ fifth no-hitter this year, dazzling with his split-finger fastball to shut down Cincinnati before Steer’s double provided the Reds’ only run.
Fans cheered the 35-year-old right-hander after the hit with chants of “Alex Cobb!” Once the final out was recorded, Cobb hugged teammates and coaches and acknowledged the crowd.
Slater made the defensive play of the game when he chased down a shallow fly ball by Will Benson with an improbable catch in left-center to end the eighth — and Cobb raised both arms in celebration.
Even Kapler thought that would be a hit.
Cobb just missed tossing San Francisco’s first no-hitter since Chris Heston on June 9, 2015, at the New York Mets.
After getting Noelvi Marte‘s first-pitch flyout to start the ninth, Cobb (7-5) issued a one-out walk to Nick Senzel before another fly to right by TJ Friedl. Then Steer came through with an opposite-field hit.
“Still fun,” said Cobb, the game ball safely tucked away in his corner locker with some other keepsakes like his strikeout from this year’s All-Star Game — his first. “I wasn’t mad, sad, just, ‘All right, let’s finish it off’ kind of thing.”
A run scored on the double, and Cobb threw a called third strike past rookie Elly De La Cruz for his eighth strikeout, sixth career complete game and second this year.
Kapler left him in the game, not immediately calling any relievers to get warm, confident Cobb still had his best stuff.
“The right thing to do is to let a guy who’s going like that continue to go,” Kapler said.
Senzel was credited with a single in the third inning on a two-hopper that third baseman Casey Schmitt snagged with a backhand grab. The rookie’s throw from foul territory was high and pulled a leaping J.D. Davis off the first-base bag.
Official scorer Chris Thoms originally called the play a hit, then changed it to an error several minutes later.
Did Cobb notice the hit initially went up on the scoreboard, then was later gone?
“Oh yeah,” he said.
“I was thinking about trying to go throw a one-hitter and then challenge the play and get a no-hitter in about a week.”
Fans in the crowd of 26,078 leapt to their feet and cheered as Benson stepped in to face Cobb with two outs in the eighth. After going ahead 0-2, Cobb threw two straight balls to make the count 2-2 when Benson lofted a shallow fly into left-center on Cobb’s fourth straight splitter. Slater sprinted nearly 20 feet to make the diving catch, which was immediately challenged by the Reds.
The play went to replay review, and when crew chief Bill Miller announced moments later, “The call on the field stands,” the crowd roared.
“With everything on the line, what a spectacular play,” Kapler said.
Patrick Bailey hit a two-run homer to help Cobb win for the first time in nine starts since July 5.
Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.
Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”
After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.
In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”
In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.
“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”
A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.
Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.
Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.
The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.
For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.
Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.
Snell and Treinen each faced hitters Saturday, and Snell pitched two innings. Each could begin a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.
The 32-year-old Snell has pitched in two games for the Dodgers following his five-year, $182 million free agent deal after spending last season with the San Francisco Giants and three before that with the San Diego Padres. He is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
“(Snell) looked good. He looked really good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what the velo was but the ball was coming out really well. He used his entire pitch mix. I thought the delivery was clean, sharp, so really positive day.”
The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been injury-prone this season but is starting to get a boost from Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar who is working as an opener in his return from elbow surgery.
Treinen is looking to get back to his role in the back end of the bullpen. He threw one inning Saturday.
“Blake Treinen I thought was really good as well,” Roberts said. “Both those guys should be ready at some point in time shortly after the All-Star break.”