Just one game after Noah Cameron came within three outs of the Pennant League’s first-ever no-hitter, Portland Quakes teammate George Kirby nearly pulled off the same feat. Kirby carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning against the New Jersey Silver Sox before Alex Bregman finally broke through with a single to lead off the inning. Shohei Ohtani followed with a home run two batters later, putting New Jersey on the board, but Kirby and the Quakes held on for a 3-2 victory. Byron Buxton provided some of Portland’s offense with a home run, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the loss for New Jersey after allowing three runs over six innings.
The back-to-back near-no-hitters have been the latest development in what has become an extraordinary run for the league-leading Quakes. Portland has now won 14 of its last 15 games and seven straight, improving to 21-10 and opening up a sizable gap atop the Pennant League. Their +54 run differential is 20 runs better than the Boston Stouts’ mark, a remarkable margin for a club that was already considered the league’s best offensive team. Portland’s lineup has posted a collective 115 OPS+, continuing to set the pace at the plate.
What has transformed the Quakes from a great team into an increasingly difficult one to beat, however, has been the pitching. During their current seven-game winning streak, Portland has surrendered just eight runs, pairing elite offense with a pitching staff that has seemingly found another gear. With Cameron nearly making history one night and Kirby nearly doing it the next, the Quakes are beginning to look like a team pulling away from the pack—and one that may be setting the standard for the rest of the league to chase.