St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas falls strike shy of no-hitter, says ‘it kinda stinks to not finish’

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas fell one strike short of a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates when Cal Mitchell doubled with two outs in the ninth inning Tuesday night.

Mitchell drove a 2-2 curveball just over the head of Gold Glove center fielder Harrison Bader. The ball bounced on the warning track 383 feet from home plate and over the wall in straightaway center for a ground-rule double.

“The curveball had been pretty good all day, and maybe I tried to overthrow it just a little bit,” Mikolas said of the hit during his postgame, on-field interview. “I left it a little bit up. The guy put a really good swing on it. That one just kept going.”

The hit came on the 129th pitch from Mikolas—most in the majors this season and 14 more than his previous career high set May 29 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He was lifted right after that for Packy Naughton, who closed out a 9-1 victory over the Pirates in the second game of a doubleheader.

“I’m in the best shape of my life, so that’s no problem for me. That’s what starters train all year for,” Mikolas said about topping 100 pitches. “Going the distance is always the goal.”