In the thick of a pennant race with less than a month remaining in the regular season, the Fredericksburg Nationals have tried their best to embrace the old sports trope that no single game is bigger than the rest.
On Friday night, that sentiment was nowhere to be found.
Travis Sykora pitched six perfect innings, and two FredNats relievers combined for three hitless frames to complete the first nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history in a 7-1 victory over Carolina at Virginia Credit Union Stadium.
“I’ve never been a part of a nine-inning no-hitter before, so it was pretty cool,” Sykora said. “It’s great to be a part of history.”
Sykora, the Washington Nationals’ No. 13 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, paved the way for the historic achievement with a dominant effort. He struck out 10 Mudcats and threw just 75 pitches in the first six-inning start of his pro career.
“It started out like a typical game,” Sykora said. “My stuff was good, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then in the fifth, I realized I hadn’t let anyone [on base] yet. That gave me the motivation to stay perfect and get through those last two innings.”
Angel Roman tossed a perfect seventh before walking Carolina’s Filippo De Turi to lead off the eighth, ending the FredNats’ bid for a perfect game. He quickly regrouped, striking out the next three batters.
“Usually I don’t have much adrenaline in the dugout when I’m done pitching,” Sykora said. “But it was still there this time. I was focused on us finishing it off right up to the final out.”
The Mudcats managed to push across a run in the ninth thanks to a walk, an error and a wild pitch. But the FredNats’ Merrick Baldo regrouped, fanning Eric Bitonti and De Turi to cap off the no-no. Fredericksburg recorded a seven-inning no hitter back in 2021.
“I had to remind myself that things happen during the game, some of which you can control and some you can’t,” Baldo said. “So I had to focus on making quality pitches to close it out for us.
“It was pretty special to be out there and contribute to this,” he added.
FredNats pitching coach Justin Lord reflected on Friday’s achievement through the lens of a 24-year career in pro baseball.
“This is my 16th year as a coach, and I’ve had a pitching staff go 8 2/3 innings with no hits allowed on three separate occasions,” he said. “So this was my first nine-inning no-hitter as a coach. After coming so close those three other times, it was really special to see those guys be able to close it out.”
The FredNats’ offense gave the pitching staff a cushion to work with early on, with Cristhian Vaquero’s solo home run and Caleb Farmer’s RBI double buoying them to a 4-0 lead through three. Elijah Green added a two-run homer in the fourth as the home team opened up a 6-0 advantage.
Vaquero and Brandon Pimentel each went 2 for 4 to pace the FredNats’ nine-hit attack, with Vaquero scoring three runs.
The first-place FredNats entered Saturday with a 25-14 record in the chase for the Carolina League North Division’s second-half championship. Down East (21-16) and Salem (22-17) trail them by three games, while Carolina (21-17) is 3 1/2 back.
The Mudcats have already earned a postseason berth by virtue of winning the division’s first-half title.
“You never want to make too much or too little of any single game,” Lord said. “And our guys have done a pretty good job of regulating their emotions, keeping everything in perspective and looking at the big picture. But it was really nice to celebrate something like this for one night.”
Sykora continues to make his pitch for promotion
Friday’s outing was the longest and most dominant outing of Sykora’s young career, but it was hardly a departure from the form he’s shown since the Nationals drafted him in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
The 6-foot-6, 232-pound right-hander struck out eight and walked one through five no-hit frames in his last start, a 5-4 win at Lynchburg on Aug. 2.
In another home start against Carolina on July 9, Sykora fanned seven and walked two over five hitless innings.
All told, Sykora has posted a 2.42 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with 96 strikeouts over 63 1/3 innings this season.
“He can throw three pitches for strikes,” Lord said of Sykora, whose repertoire features a fastball, slider and splitter. “He’s very routine-oriented and prepares very well, and that’s served him well.”
