The longest no-hitter drought in baseball lives on. Cleveland Guardians rookie left-hander Parker Messick lost his no-hit bid against the Baltimore Orioles on Leody Taveras' leadoff single in the ninth inning Thursday night at Progressive Field (CLE 4, BAL 2). After another single, closer Cade Smith replaced Messick to finish the game.

The Guardians have not thrown a no-hitter since Len Barker's perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 15, 1981. Cleveland's no-hitter drought is at 7,055 games and counting, far and away the longest in baseball. The Blue Jays are a distant second at 5,548 games. The only no-hitter in Toronto's history is Dave Stieb's against Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990.

Here is Taveras' leadoff single to ruin Messick's no-hit bid. You can categorize this as well-placed, not well-struck.

Smith allowed both runners he inherited from Messick to score, so he finished the game with two runs on two hits and two walks in eight innings. He struck out nine and threw 112 pitches, the most by any pitcher in baseball this season. Messick has a 1.05 ERA in four starts and 25 ⅔ innings this season.

Messick, 25, ranked fourth in our rookie power rankings last week. The 2022 second-round pick out of Florida State made his MLB debut last Aug. 20 and pitched to a 2.72 ERA in seven starts and 39 ⅔ innings. Messick gave the Guardians a big lift down the stretch as they stormed to the AL Central title.

MLB's no-hitter drought continues

There has not been a no-hitter since Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relievers no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 4, 2024. There has not been a single-pitcher no-hitter since Blake Snell, then with the San Francisco Giants, no-hit the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2, 2024. The 2025 season was baseball's first without a no-hitter since 2005.

Messick's no-hit bid was easily the longest in baseball this season. No other pitcher or team has taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning in 2026. Last year, four no-hitters were lost in the ninth inning, most notably Yoshinobu Yamamoto's against the Orioles on Sept. 6. The O's made a dramatic comeback and won that game on a walk-off.

José Ramírez provided Messick with early run support with his first-inning two-run homer off Shane Baz. It was Ramírez's 289th career home run. He is 11 homers and five stolen bases away from becoming the ninth player in history with 300 homers and 300 steals. Cleveland later tacked on runs in the fifth and sixth innings. 

Cleveland's no-hitter drought is not the longest in baseball history. That record belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies, who went 8,944 games between no-hitters spanning 1906 and 1964.