Kenta Maeda delivered his top 3A performance this season with 7.2 hitless innings, only to have it spoiled by a solo home run.

Currently pitching for the New York Yankees’ Triple-A team, Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda started against the Red Sox’s Triple-A squad today (4th), throwing a season-best 7.2 innings without allowing a hit. Unfortunately, Nathan Hickey ended the no-hit bid with a solo homer, but Maeda’s team still secured a 5-1 victory.

Kenta Maeda, who recently announced he will end his career in the U.S. and return to Japan’s professional league after this season, delivered his best outing of the year against the Red Sox Triple-A team today. In the first inning, he retired all three batters on just nine pitches. Although he issued a walk to Trayce Thompson in the second inning, he kept the opposition from advancing further and escaped unscathed.

Maeda continued to demonstrate excellent control, retiring 15 straight batters from the third through the seventh innings. In the first seven innings, the only baserunner he allowed was from a walk.

Maeda maintained his no-hit bid into the eighth inning, striking out the first two batters he faced. However, with his pitch count nearing 100, coaches and the translator came out to check on him. Maeda chose to keep pitching but was ultimately broken up by Hickey’s solo home run. The coaching staff then replaced him, concluding his outing with 7.2 innings pitched, one hit allowed, one run, one walk, and nine strikeouts.

This game marked Maeda’s best performance of the season. Previously, while with the Detroit Tigers, he appeared in seven major league games exclusively as a reliever, pitching eight innings with an ERA of 7.88. After moving to the Triple-A systems of the Chicago Cubs and Yankees, his performances were unimpressive, making this strong outing a significant confidence boost for Maeda.