The San Diego Padres entered Wednesday night the only franchise in Major League Baseball without a no-hitter to their credit. That fact will remain in place heading forward, but not for a lack of trying on Chris Paddack's part. Paddack took a no-no into the eighth inning against the Miami Marlins, only to have his bid dashed by a Starlin Castro home run.
Paddack, who departed a few batters later, finished his night after 7 ⅔ innings having permitted just the one hit, the one run, and a single walk. Along the way, he notched eight strikeouts on 94 pitches, generating 15 swinging strikes in all, including eight on his heater. Paddack's changeup was responsible for six whiffs as well.
It's worth noting the game featured a quality defensive play or two -- like Hunter Renfroe running down a slicing line drive to end the seventh -- and even some controversy. The sixth inning ended with a video replay, as it appeared Miguel Rojas may have slipped in under Eric Hosmer's tag at first base. Yet the officials confirmed the out call.
Paddack's no-hit bid would have been the sixth in franchise history that was carried into the ninth inning. The Padres have had two no-hit attempts come within an out of happening: Steve Arlin in 1972 and a combined effort in 2011. The Padres have had some close calls in recent years, with Tyson Ross and Jordan Lyles each threatening the eight-inning mark last season.
Of course, Paddack's no-hitter would've been special for other reasons, too. He was originally a member of the Marlins organization before being sent to San Diego in a July 2016 trade for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney. Rodney made 39 appearances for the Marlins. Paddack's start on Wednesday was his 16th for the Padres -- he's going to make many, many more.
With any luck, one or two of them will end up being no-hitters.