Dragons Memories: The Only No-Hitter

What is the most exciting individual accomplishment in baseball? Most fans would say it is the no-hitter. Through 12 decades of modern-day professional baseball, its pure anticipation is guaranteed to bring fans to their feet. 

The odds of a pitcher throwing a no-hitter on any given day are extremely slim, but how about the odds of throwing two no-hitters in a row? It has happened only once in Major League history. The Reds Johnny Vander Meer tossed back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. Over the last 100 years of Minor League Baseball, in all leagues, only twice has a pitcher thrown consecutive no-hitters, and only once in the last 60 years. In 2006, a Dayton Dragons pitcher got an assist from Mother Nature and nearly matched this incredible feat.

The 2006 season was the Dragons seventh year at Fifth Third Field. New features in the ballpark that season included 16 new LCD monitors throughout the concourse, displaying the in-house telecast of the game and entertainment, and 180 feet of LED Fascia Board just below the club level to display various graphics, stats, and scores. The Dragons entertainment staff debuted the Hop-a-Long Horse Race on inflatable animals, an element of in-game entertainment that is still popular to this day.

The Dragons team in 2006 featured a collection of top prospects in the Reds organization, led by 2005 first round draft pick Jay Bruce. The pitching staff was led by 2005 second rounder Travis Wood, who had enjoyed an exceptional start to his pro career and came into 2006 as the Dragons ace on the mound. Future Reds Paul Janish and Carlos Fisher also played key roles for the Dragons.

The Dragons roster also featured a 20-year-old starting pitcher from the Dominican Republic who threw hard despite standing just five foot-10. He had not yet established himself as a Reds top-10 prospect, but by season's end, his status would be greatly elevated, and by opening day 2008, less than two years after he pitched in Dayton, Johnny Cueto would claim a permanent spot in the starting rotation in Cincinnati.

Cueto took the mound for the Dragons in the second game of a doubleheader on May 8, 2006, facing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Under chilly conditions in Appleton, Wisconsin in a game scheduled for seven innings, the Dragons jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. In the fourth, Dayton third baseman Mike Griffin connected on a three-run home run. 

Meanwhile, Cueto was on top of his game.   He retired the first nine batters-five on strikeouts-before issuing a lead-off walk in the fourth and then getting a double play ball from the next batter. In the fifth, he again walked a batter, but struck out the last three in the inning as the Timber Rattlers remained without a hit in the game. Before play could begin in the sixth, the game was stopped due to rain and never resumed. Cueto had the first, and still only, no-hitter in Dragons history.

Five days later, Cueto was back on the mound against Fort Wayne at Fifth Third Field in the first game of a doubleheader, again scheduled for seven innings. Cueto was again perfect through the first inning, the second, and then the third. He retired the first two batters in the fourth before Fort Wayne's Will Venable delivered a double to center field. It would be the only mistake Cueto would make that day. He finished the game without allowing another runner to reach base. Cueto walked no one and struck out seven for the win as Bruce belted the game's only homer. Venable's double was the only thing separating Cueto from back-to-back no-hitters. Amazingly, the streak might not have ended there.  

Cueto's next start was not much different from the last two, another seven-inning shutout in which he allowed just two hits and no walks. He had now gone three straight starts without allowing a run, surrendering a total of three hits. By the end of June, with an 8-1 record, he was gone. 

Cueto returned to Fifth Third Field for two starts in 2013 on a Major League rehab assignment, improving his career record with the Dragons to 9-1. Cueto's time in Dayton featured the only no-hitter in Dragons history, and a follow-up performance that was one pitch away from perfection.