Justin Bour breaks up Shelby Miller's no-hit bid with two outs in ninth

Mark Townsend
·Yahoo Sports Contributor

Atlanta Braves right-hander Shelby Miller entered play on Sunday with baseball's second lowest ERA (1.60) among qualified starters. That number is going to drop even further after he flirted with history, carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins.

Miller was one out from completing the pitching performance of his life when pinch-hitter Justin Bour ripped the first pitch he saw up the middle for a clean single. Had Miller been able to retire Bour, it would have been the first no-hitter of his professional career and the first in MLB this season. He ended up settling for a two-hit shutout after Dee Gordon immediately followed with an infield single. The Braves won the game 6-0.

Prior to the ninth, Miller allowed just one baserunner, a walk to Marcell Ozuna leading off the second inning. He needed only 94 pitches, which around the baseball world is recognized as a Greg Maddux special. The Hall of Fame pitcher threw a remarkable 14 career shutouts on less than 100 pitches.

Miller struck out only four, which doesn't give the appearance of a dominant outing, but he was able to keep Marlins batters off balance all day. His curveball was particularly good in the later innings, as he was able to induce several weak popups.

Miller was making just his eighth start for Atlanta. He was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason along with prospect Tyrell Jenkins in exchange for outfielder Jason Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden. Heyward was obviously the biggest name in the deal, but Miller's upside has always been significant as well.

We saw a grander glimpse of that extraordinary upside on Sunday.

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As for the Marlins, they were able to avoid being on the wrong side of MLB's two most recent no-hitters. Remember, on the final day of the 2014 regular season, Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals made history at their expense at Nationals Park. .

Ironically, on the final day of the 2013 season, Miami's Henderson Alvarez no-hit the Detroit Tigers. Alvarez was Miller's opponent on Sunday afternoon.

The near no-no would have been the first by a Braves pitcher since Kent Mercker shut down the Los Angeles Dodgers back on April 8, 1994. Since then, the Braves have been no-hit three times, by Randy Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and a collection of four Phillies last Sept. 1, including starter Cole Hamels.

History wasn't meant to be made Sunday afternoon in Miami.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!