Zach Eflin and six relievers combined on a spring-training no-hitter Saturday as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in Bradenton, Fla., with the teams’ regular-season opener less than a week away.
Eflin pitched the first three innings, striking out four and walking one. Reliever Riley Cooper ended the no-hitter by striking out Matt Gorski. Cooper threw one inning, fanning two and walking none.
Relievers Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Perez, Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras also worked a hitless inning for Baltimore. Soto gave up the Orioles’ other two walks, and Perez (1-0) was the winning pitcher. He struck out two.
Livan Soto led the Orioles’ offense, going 2-for-4. He had one RBI, in Baltimore’s three-run seventh.
Eflin, who went 10-9 with a 3.59 ERA last season, is scheduled to start Thursday for the Orioles on Opening Day at the Toronto Blue Jays. The right-hander is 0-1 this spring, with a 5.40 ERA over four games (all starts) and 11 2/3 innings.
Right-hander Paul Skenes, the National League Rookie of the Year last season, started for the Pirates on Saturday and gave up no runs and one hit over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one.
