A no-hitter often defines a pitcher's career, but for Erik Bedard of the Houston Astros it was his short-term future and not immortality that drove him on Saturday.
The left-hander took himself out of his attempt at his first career no-hitter 6 1/3 innings into it.
The journeyman handed the ball over to manager Bo Porter with a stat line of 10 strikeouts, five walks, one earned run, 109 pitches and, oh yeah, zero hits.
"I asked him, 'Are you sure?' And he said, 'I'm done,' " Porter told reporters after the game, a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
"I've had three shoulder surgeries," Bedard, who was once traded to the Mariners for three eventual All-Stars, explained to reporters. "I'm not going over 110 [pitches]. I'd rather pitch a couple more years than face another batter."
Jose Cisnero finished off the seventh inning but saw the team's no-hit bid end when Michael Saunders hit a two-run double for the Mariners' lone hit of the night.
"It was probably the strangest game I've been involved in since little league to the big leagues," Porter said.
Bedard, who took the loss Saturday despite his noteworthy outing, is 3-7 on the season and entered play Saturday with a 4.41 ERA for last-place Houston.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.