Reds fans pick unreasonable scapegoat for Nick Martinez's lost no-hitter

On Friday night, Nick Martinez came within three outs of recording the 18th no-hitter in Cincinnati Reds history. But after walking the leadoff batter in the top of the ninth inning, Martinez surrendered a pinch-hit double to San Diego Padres catcher Elias Díaz and the no-hitter was spoiled.

Matinez was well over 100 pitches at that point, and Reds manager Terry Francona strolled onto the field and lifted his starter to a standing ovation from the crowd in attendance at Great American Ball Park. Taylor Rogers came on in relief and walked in a run to spoil the Reds' shutout, but Cincinnati still emerged with an 8-1 win to improve to 43-39 on the season.

But Martinez's near no-hitter was not without controversy. A number of Reds fans took to social media after the Díaz double claiming that outfielder Ryan Vilade should've made the catch, or at the very least gone all-out in an attempt preserve Martinez's no-hitter.

Reds fans call out Ryan Vilade after Nick Martinez loses no-hitter vs. Padres

Off the bat, the ball looked like a surefire home run. But replays of the base hit revealed that the ball hit about midway up the wall in left-center field. Vilade, rather than going full-speed toward the fence, positioned himself to play the ball off the wall and sent a relay throw back into the infield.

The frustration from some within the Reds fanbase is understandable. Had Martinez completed the no-hitter, it would've been one of the truly remarkable feats in franchise history. Don't forget that Martinez started a game last Thursday, and came on in relief twice in the past week before Friday's start — that's four appearances, 53 batters faced, and 13 ⅔ innings in eight days.

However, if the Reds fanbase wants to be upset at anyone, their frustration should be directed at Francona. Vilade, who was called up earlier this week after Connor Joe hit the IL, had never played a single inning in left field at GABP until Gavin Lux was lifted in the eighth inning. Much like Francona did when he replaced Christian Encarnacion-Strand with Santiago Espinal in the sixth inning, the Reds' skipper was trying to get the best defenders on the field to help keep Martinez's no-hitter alive.

But to expect Vilade to make an all-out play with barely an inning's worth of time in the outfield and only 28 Major League games under his belt is a bit unfair, don't you think? Don't forget, the last time a Reds player made a heroic defensive play like that, Tyler Callihan broke his arm — and wasn't even credited with the catch.

The difficulty-level of that catch likely would've been somewhere in the range of 9 out of 10, and to expect a utility player to make such a highlight-reel play is a bit unfair. Everyone in attendance, and watching on TV, wanted to see Martinez complete the no-hitter, but it wasn't to be. The important thing is that the Reds got the W, and are now just two games of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

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