The worst part of Blake Snell’s Friday came in the moments after he made history by throwing the 18th no-hitter in Giants history, and the first of his career.
As Snell stood alone and talked on the NBC Sports Bay Area's "Giants Postgame Live," fellow pitcher Logan Webb and another San Francisco teammate snuck up from behind and doused Snell with a cooler full of ice and water.
The chill was bad enough. Then Snell got hid in the head by the lid of the cooler as the two pranksters scurried away.
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“Get a replay of that,” Snell said as water dripped around him. “That’s how you don’t do it. They hit me in the head with the dang lid.”
That and three walks were the only things that separated Snell from a perfect night.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner, who was the Giants’ most prized offseason acquisition, had scuffled through the first four months of the season while dealing with injuries and ineffectiveness.
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That led to a lot of criticism from fans and media, some of whom believed it would be in San Francisco's best interest to trade Snell away in hopes of getting something, anything, back on their $62 million investment that they made in the pitcher.
From certain viewpoints, it seemed almost like a foregone conclusion that a deal was going to be made.
Instead, Farhan Zaidi’s decision to stand pat might have been the best choice he’s made since taking over as head of baseball operations in 2018.
Snell rewarded Zaidi’s faith with a vintage performance that had been his M.O. for most of his MLB career prior to signing with San Francisco.
“I was happy,” Snell said when asked about not being traded before Tuesday's MLB trade deadline. “I wanted to stay, so being able to do that is pretty amazing.”
Snell pitched his way into the history books against the Reds, retiring 27 of the 30 batters he faced to guide the Giants to a 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
That came on the heels of Snell’s previous best start with the Orange and Black, when he became the first pitcher in major league history to get 15 strikeouts in six innings.
Snell had 11 strikeouts in his latest gem, giving him back-to-back double-digit strikeout games for the first time since he did it in four straight games with the San Diego Padres during the 2023 MLB season.
The 26 strikeouts in back-to-back starts are tied for the second-most in franchise history, matching Madison Bumgarner (2015) and Jason Schmidt (2006). John Montefusco holds the record of 27 set in 1975.
“That’s as nervous as I’ve been in a long time,” said Bob Melvin, who managed Snell for two seasons with the San Diego Padres before getting hired by the Giants this past offseason. “I wanted that for him so bad. If anybody has the stuff to throw a no-hitter, it’s Blake Snell.”
Amid his masterful night on the mound, Snell was able to scratch a few items off his to-do list. He had never pitched into the ninth inning in any of his previous 201 starts in the big leagues, and thus had never been credited with a shutout.
Both those were checked off Friday, along with the no-hitter.
“They can’t say it anymore,” Snell said gleefully in the visitor’s clubhouse. “Complete game, shutout, no-hitter. Leave me alone.”
San Francisco’s players and coaches basically did exactly that for most of Friday night. Traditionally, teammates tend to avoid talking about a no-hitter while it is happening and conversations with the pitcher are kept to an extreme minimum.
That was the case against the Reds.
It wasn’t until right fielder Mike Yastrzemski hauled in Elly De La Cruz’s fly ball for the final out that the celebration began.
“Boys were pumped up, I was pumped up, a great time,” Snell said of the partying in the visitor's clubhouse at Great American Ball Park after the game. “Still kind of a shock. I need to go home and let it sink in.”
One of only seven pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues, Snell’s gem was just the latest jewel in his crown as one of the most dominant pitchers in recent history.
It was also validation for Zaidi, who has taken a lot of criticism over the moves he has and hasn’t made as the Giants’ president of baseball operations.
To be fair, the decision to stick with Snell wasn’t exactly easy. The 31-year-old lefty owned an ERA of 11.40 after his first four starts and hadn’t won a game with San Francisco yet in the days leading up to last Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Zaidi, however, was seeing what everyone else has seen from Snell over the last month.
In his last five starts covering 33 innings, Snell has given up just eight hits and two runs for a cool 0.55 ERA.
“That’s the crazy part, I feel like it could have been any of these games, that’s how dominant he’s been,” Giants catcher Patrick Bailey said. “You could tell he was tired out there. He was determined to finish it up and he gave it all he had. It was incredible.”
Snell developed a small blister during his night against the Reds but it wasn’t enough to prevent him from completing his first no-no.
“I wasn’t going to say a whole lot to him," Melvin said. “He was a little tired and he’s never been in the ninth inning before. But there comes a point in time where it’s kind of destiny for him, especially the way he’s throwing.”
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