AJ Smith-Shawver was rolling right along when he realized his Atlanta Braves teammates were beginning to avoid him. They had a good reason. The 22-year-old rookie right-hander hadn’t given up a hit against the Cincinnati Reds — and the rest of the Braves didn’t want to jinx him.

On Monday night at Truist Park, rookie right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver came within six outs of history, carrying a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds before Santiago Espinal lined a leadoff single to center.

Manager Brian Snitker told the pitcher he would have let him go as high as 120 pitches if that's what it took to get the no-hitter.