Orioles throw first exhibition no-hitter in 4-0 win over Pirates

BRADENTON, Fla. – Riley Cooper had no idea.

A combined no-hitter was brewing today and it rested in Cooper’s left hand as the Orioles reliever selected for the bottom of the ninth inning.

A 13^th-round draft pick out of LSU in 2023. A low A-ball pitcher with 24 games of professional experience.

The pressure he felt also was surprisingly low.

“Pitching’s pitching,” he said, “so I just went in there and did my thing.”

Cooper, 23, was calm at the outset because he didn’t realize that the Pirates failed to get a hit against the first six pitchers – starter Zach Eflin for three innings and Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Pérez, Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras for one apiece.

“Honestly, I didn’t know until right before I went in,” said Cooper, who was never part of a no-hitter until today. “I felt it a little bit at first but once I started warming up, I felt good.”

Cooper, unaware whether he’d be used today and chosen by pitching coach Drew French to handle the ninth, hadn’t seen the scoreboard from the visiting bullpen at LECOM Park. He wasn’t scoring the game. He was oblivious to the moment.

“Someone told me,” he said. “It was actually a fan yelled it, like, ‘Keep the no-hitter.’ I was like, ‘Oh, let’s get it,’ so I went in and just pitched.”

Today marked the first no-hitter thrown by the Orioles in an exhibition game. It began with Eflin’s three scoreless innings and four strikeouts in his tune-up before Opening Day in Toronto. Soto issued back-to-back, two-out walks but escaped. Cano, Pérez and Baker cruised on a combined 28 pitches.

Manager Brandon Hyde said he noticed the run at spring training history around the fifth or sixth inning.

“I think Baker’s inning,” Hyde said. “Soto got two quick outs and then a couple walks. I was a little frustrated at that point. Cionel threw a good inning and Bake threw a good innings, and I looked up and we hadn’t given up a hit yet.”

Contreras threw 20 pitches in the eighth, and speedster Enrique Bradfield Jr. ran down Bryce Johnson’s fly ball in right-center field leading off the inning – the closest that the Pirates came to ruining the fun.

The other close call occurred in the ninth when leadoff hitter Aaron McKeithan’s ground ball deflected off Cooper’s foot and rolled toward second baseman Livan Soto, who changed direction to make the pickup and throw and record the out.

“Once I felt it clip my cleat, I got a little nervous out there,” said Cooper, who had a 3.07 ERA in 24 games with the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Jase Bowen struck out on a foul-tip changeup and Matt Gorski, who hit three home runs against the Orioles this spring, struck out on a 93.3 mph sinker. Catcher Maverick Handley came out of his crouch and teammates shook hands.

That was it. No wild celebration. Just the final out in a 4-0 win.

“I can’t remember another one, so really cool the way we pitched,” Hyde said. “I thought we did a lot of really good things in the game. But yeah, I’ve never seen a spring training no-hitter before – I don’t think.

“To be a part of something that’s a little bit more than a game, I think that’s a good experience for all these guys.”

The Pirates started reigning Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes, who was Cooper’s teammate at LSU when they won a national championship.

“I’ll definitely give him a text after this,” Cooper said, laughing.

“I got a little nervous halfway through, the crowd started to get a little crazy,” he said. “But it was fun.”

“I thought it was a great experience for a lot of guys who were on the field,” Hyde said. “Everybody was aware of what was going on.”

Well, almost everybody.