Orioles nearly no-hit, then nearly come back in 4-2 loss to Guardians

CLEVELAND - The Orioles are good at almost being no-hit.

They're even better at avoiding history in the last inning.

The Orioles on Thursday night failed to record a hit entering the ninth inning - the third straight season in which Baltimore's bats have nearly been on the receiving end of a no-hitter. This time, it was Guardians left-hander Parker Messick, who looked unhittable to help hand the Orioles a 4-2 loss.

But for the third time in a row, the Orioles avoided ignominy before it was too late. Switch-hitting center fielder Leody Taveras smacked the first pitch of the ninth inning for a 103.5-mph ground-ball single that just squeaked through the right side of the infield.

Two seasons ago, on Sept. 13, 2024, the Detroit Tigers' bullpen made it into the ninth inning without surrendering a hit when Gunnar Henderson broke that one up. Last season, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came one out away from a no-hitter at Camden Yards on Sept. 6, but Jackson Holliday hit a solo homer to break it up.

Yamamoto's near-no-hitter went from being one of the worst games in Orioles regular-season history to one of the best. Holliday's homer sparked a miraculous comeback victory. The Orioles almost did the same thing Thursday, but they couldn't finish the job.

After Taveras' single, Messick stayed in to face Blaze Alexander, who also singled. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt pulled Messick, who received a standing ovation from the several thousand fans at Progressive Field, for closer Cade Smith.

Taylor Ward then singled to load the bases, and Gunnar Henderson drove in the Orioles' first run with a sacrifice fly to the warning track. Pete Alonso then doubled off the right field wall to put the tying run on second base, but Smith buckled down to get Colton Cowser to fly out and Samuel Basallo to ground out.

Messick's no-hitter would have been the 15th in Cleveland history and the club's first since Len Barker on May 15, 1981. It would have been the eighth time in Orioles history (since 1954) that they've been on the receiving end of a no-hitter. The last time Baltimore was no-hit was by the Seattle Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma on Aug. 12, 2015. The other two this century were by Boston Red Sox pitchers Clay Buchholz and Hideo Nomo on Sept. 1, 2007, and April 4, 2001, respectively.

Messick's 2.04 ERA through his first 10 starts, seven last year and three this season, was the lowest by a Cleveland pitcher since 1920 - a franchise that's home to some of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. In his 11th start, he was only three outs away from etching himself into baseball history. He struck out nine and walked two. Vogt left him in the game for the ninth inning despite entering the frame at 106 pitches.

Before the ninth inning, the Orioles barely made hard contact against Messick, hitting only four balls with exit velocities faster than 95 mph. Only two of Baltimore's balls in play had expected batting averages north of .500, according to Statcast.

The last MLB no-hitter was Sept. 4, 2024, by the Chicago Cubs' Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge. The most recent solo no-hitter was by San Francisco Giants lefty Blake Snell on Aug. 2, 2024.

Messick's bats supported him early with all the run support he would need. In the first inning, José Ramírez blasted a two-run homer off Orioles starting pitcher Shane Baz. Ramírez teed up on a first-pitch, center-cut fastball from Baz and deposited it 388 feet to right-center field to give Cleveland (11-9) an early 2-0 lead. The Guardians tacked on an insurance run off Baz in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Baltimore fell to 9-10 with the loss, their third straight after previously winning six of seven games.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 6:55 PM.