BRADENTON, Fla. — After the last out was recorded, there was little celebration or recognition of what just happened.
Catcher Maverick Handley didn’t rush the mound to embrace pitcher Riley Cooper. The infielders didn’t tackle Cooper in front of the mound. No one from the dugout dumped the Gatorade cooler on Cooper’s head.
Those theatrics would’ve felt silly in a spring training game, but the insignificance of the result doesn’t alter the improbability of what the Orioles did Saturday. Seven pitchers — starter Zach Eflin, five relievers and Cooper — pitched a combined no-hitter to lead Baltimore to a 4-0 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates.
It marks the first spring training no-hitter in Orioles history. The last MLB team to throw a no-no during spring training was the Chicago Cubs in 2023. Three years before moving to Baltimore, the St. Louis Browns pitched a no-hitter in 1951.
The Orioles win 4-0 over the Pirates.
Seven pitchers combined to throw the first spring training no-hitter in Orioles history. Zach Eflin, Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Perez, Bryan Baker, Roansy Contreras and Riley Cooper.
Here’s Cooper slamming the door: pic.twitter.com/VqCIcXiN32
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) March 22, 2025
“Really cool the way we pitched,” manager Brandon 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.”
Eflin, the Orioles’ opening day starter, opened the game and pitched three innings, allowing only one walk. Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Pérez, Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras each followed with a scoreless frame to put the fate of the no-no in Cooper’s hands. The former LSU standout didn’t flinch.
“Pitching’s pitching,” the burly left-hander said with a wide smile after the game. “I just went in there and did my thing.”
Cooper, the Orioles’ 13th-round draft pick in 2023, was one of many players from minor league camp in Baltimore’s bullpen Saturday. The 23-year-old didn’t know there was a no-hitter until a fan yelled as he was about to run onto the field.
“Keep the no hitter!” the fan screamed.
“Oh,” Cooper thought to himself. “Let’s get it.”
Cooper said Saturday is the first time he’s been part of a no-hitter in his life, but it was far from the first time he experienced pitching under pressure.
Riley Cooper said he didn’t know there was a no-hitter until a fan yelled as he was about to go in the game.
“Keep the no-hitter,” the fan yelled.
“Oh, let’s get it,” Cooper thought to himself. pic.twitter.com/3sEEIQrvFV
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) March 22, 2025
LSU won the College World Series in 2023, Cooper’s last year as a Tiger. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound southpaw led the team in appearances with 32 appearances, and he was lights-out in the CWS — allowing only one run in 9 2/3 innings.
The crowd at LECOM Park on Saturday was nowhere near what Cooper experienced in college, but the tension did build with each pitch he threw. After he struck out the last batter, the contingent of Orioles fans behind the third base dugout stood and cheered.
“Honestly, pretty close,” Cooper said when asked if it felt like pitching in the CWS. “I got a little nervous halfway through. Crowd started getting a little crazy, but it was fun.”
Cooper wasn’t the only ex-Tiger to pitch Saturday. Pirates ace Paul Skenes started for Pittsburgh and pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Cooper isn’t going to wait long to start bragging to Skenes about capping off the no-hitter.
“Oh, definitely,” Cooper said. “I’ll definitely give him a text after this.”
There were few batted balls from the Pirates that threatened the no-hitter as Saturday was the best the Orioles’ pitching staff has looked all spring. Alika Williams smacked a 104.4 mph line drive to center field that Statcast gave an expected batting average of .780, but the wind killed it as center fielder Ramón Laureano tracked it down with ease. To lead off the eighth inning, Bryce Johnson hit a shallow fly ball off Contreras that appeared as if it could land as the wind pushed it toward right field, but center field prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. used his elite speed to chase it down.
Hyde said it wasn’t until Baker finished the seventh inning that he thought the Orioles had a chance to complete the no-hitter.
“Soto got two quick outs and a couple walks, and I was a little frustrated at that point,” Hyde quipped. “Cionel threw a good inning and Bake threw a good inning, and I looked up and we hadn’t given up a hit yet.”
“I haven’t really talked to any of the guys that came out of the game,” Hyde continued. “To be a part of something where it’s a little bit more than a game, I think that’s a good experience for all these guys.”
The closest the Pirates came to breaking up the no-hitter was to lead off the ninth against Cooper. Aaron McKeithan hit a hard ground ball back up the middle, and it ricocheted off Cooper’s foot toward second base. Livan Soto stopped on a dime, charged the ball, barehanded it and threw McKeithan out at first. Cooper then struck out the last two batters to slam the door.
Hyde was impressed with Cooper in the ninth, and with pitching coach Drew French’s decision to choose the lefty for the big moment.
“He’s coming in as a backup for us. He has no idea if he’s going to pitch or not,” Hyde said. “I let Frenchy pick whoever he wanted to throw there in the ninth inning, and he went with the kid from LSU.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
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