Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey, right, hugs catcher Ryan Hanigan, left, after Bailey threw a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game, Tuesday, July 2, 2013, in Cincinnati. Cincinnati won 3-0.CINCINNATI – Homer Bailey threw his second no-hitter in 10 months and the first in the majors this season, pitching the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 victory over the slumping San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.
Bailey (5-6) became the third Reds pitcher with more than one no-hitter, joining Jim Maloney and Johnny Vander Meer – still the only big leaguer to toss two in a row. Bailey beat the Pirates 1-0 in Pittsburgh last Sept. 28 and got another 17 starts later.
“Every dog has its day twice, I guess,” Bailey said. “It felt good to do it front of the Cincinnati fans.”
The last pitcher to throw one no-hitter and then another before anyone else in the majors accomplished the feat was Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, according to STATS. Baseball’s career strikeout king did it for the California Angels on Sept. 28, 1974, against Minnesota, and June 1, 1975, vs. Baltimore.
Bailey grew up in Texas, just like Ryan, and wears No. 34 in tribute to his boyhood idol.