Two players were making a run at history in this game for the Cincinnati Reds. In the end both guys fell just short but Spencer Steer and Nick Martinez both did more than enough to secure a win over the San Diego Padres to open up their weekend series.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Padres (44-37) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (43-39) | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Martinez (5-8) L: Cease (3-7) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds began the bottom of the 1st with a walk by TJ Friedl. Matt McLain then singled and sent Friedl over to third, while McLain took second on an error by Fernando Tatis Jr. on the play. Elly De La Cruz put the Reds up 1-0 with a grounder to first base that moved both runners up. A wild pitch brought McLain home and made it 2-0. Spencer Steer would tack on a run an inning later with his 7th home run of the season.
Nick Martinez was cruising through the Padres lineup, giving up just one walk through the first four innings. In the bottom of the 4th inning it was Steer once again crushing a home run to add another run to Cincinnati’s lead and make it 4-0.
In the 5th inning the Reds offense went right back to it. Elly De La Cruz led off with a single and then scored on a double into the left field corner by Austin Hays. Gavin Lux followed with an RBI single. Later in the inning Spencer Steer capped things off with his third home run of the day – a line drive into the first row of seats in left field – to make it 8-0.
A battle of the bigger storyline kept developing in the top of the 6th inning as Nick Martinez struck out the first two batters he faced before getting Luis Arraez to line out to end the frame and leave the Padres hitless through two thirds of the game. The next inning saw Martinez retire the side in order.
When the 8th inning began the Padres still didn’t have a hit and Martinez had 90 pitches. Gavin Sheets did him no favors as he led off with an 8-pitch at-bat, but he flew out to left field. Xander Bogaerts only saw two pitches and grounded out to third base. Jake Cronenworth then struck on five pitches.
Spencer Steer, having hit three home runs already, led off the bottom of the 8th inning looking to make a little bit of history of his own. He would have to settle for three homers on the day as he struck out. The next two hitters also made outs, sending the game to the top of the 9th inning.
Sitting at 105 pitches on the night, Nick Martinez took the mound looking for three more outs. He walked Trenton Brooks to begin the inning, allowing the first runner for San Diego since the 1st inning. The second pitch thrown to Elias Diaz was crushed for a double off of the wall to end the no-hit bid. It also ended the day for Martinez who was at 112 pitches. Manager Terry Francona headed to the mound to make a pitching change and Martinez exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd.
A well-deserved ovation pic.twitter.com/rRLsFW9VFt
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 28, 2025
Taylor Rogers came in out of the bullpen with two men in scoring position and no outs, but just needed to give up fewer than seven runs. His first pitch was popped up by Luis Arraez. Rogers then struck out Tyler Wade. But Jackson Merrill battled for a walk on nine pitches to load the bases. San Diego called on pinch hitter Bryce Johnson to hit for Fernando Tatis Jr. and he would draw a second consecutive walk by Rogers and this one brought in the Padres first run. Gavin Sheets came to the plate looking to make a game of it, but he struck out on three pitches to end the game as Cincinnati took the series opener 8-1.
Key Moment of the Game
Writing Nick Martinez in the pitchers spot on the lineup card. He made sure his team’s victory was never in doubt.
Notes Worth Noting
Nick Martinez got clobbered for seven runs in 2.2 innings in his start against Minnesota on the 19th. Since then he’s thrown 11.0 innings with just the one hit that came in the 9th inning.
Spencer Steer’s 3-4 day with three home runs raised his season OPS by 44 points as he went from .660 to .704. His on-base percentage topped the .300 mark at the end of a game for the first time all season and currently sits at .302.
Since 1970, hitters with 3 HR before their pitcher gave up a hit
TONIGHT- Spencer Steer (CIN)
9/16/2022 – Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
8/10/2019 – Aristides Aquino (CIN)
9/10/1979 – Carney Lansford (CAL)
7/26/1970 – Johnny Bench (CIN)Today is the only time the no-hitter has reached the 6th.
— Joel Luckhaupt (@jluckhaupt.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
San Diego vs Cincinnati Reds
Saturday June 28th, 4:10pm ET
Randy Vasquez (3-4, 3.60 ERA) vs Andrew Abbott (7-1, 1.79 ERA)
The post No-hit bid by Martinez falls just short in a Reds 8-1 win appeared first on Redleg Nation.