Sometimes a ballplayer simply has a magical night. Cincinnati Reds starter Nick Martinez had one on Friday, taking a no-hitter into the 9th inning in an 8-1 win over the San Diego Padres, the team that brought him back to big league baseball.

Martinez was masterful against his old mates. He ended the 8th inning with a strikeout of Jake Cronenworth, his 6th punchout of the night on his 105th pitch, just the second time all season he’d topped the century mark. With history on the line there was no chance Reds skipper Terry Francona was going to take him out of the game.

The workload finally caught up to him. Martinez walked Trenton Brooks to lead off the 9th inning then lost the no-hitter on a double by Elias Diaz that ended Nick’s night to a standing ovation at Great American Ballpark. The Padres mounted a mini-rally to bring in their only run of the night but it was far too little, far too late. If anyone in this pitching matchup was expected to have a shot at a no-no it’s the guy the Padres put on the mound.

Dylan Cease, who has a no-hitter on his resume, got the start and never looked comfortable. He needed 93 pitches to get through just 4.0 innings, allowing four runs, two of them coming on a pair of solo homers by Spencer Steer. Yuki Matsui replaced him in the 5th and the game got out of hand.

Matsui coughed up four runs, a pair of them coming on a two-run shot by Steer for his first career three-homer game. His bat was more than enough to back Martinez.

In a bit of irony, it was the Padres who resurrected Martinez’s career. After a few years bouncing up and down in the Texas Rangers organization Martinez pitched in Japan from 2018-2021. The Padres signed him prior to the 2022 season and he became an integral part of the team’s run to the National League Championship Series as both a starter and a reliever.

Cincinnati signed him prior to the 2024 season and gave him a chance to start more consistently. He saved the best start of his career for San Diego.

The Padres try to even the series on Saturday afternoon with Randy Vasquez on the mound against lefty Andrew Abbott.