Frontier League ERA leader Zac Cline (5-3) mesmerized the Paints offense Saturday as he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. In the end, Cline and reliever Jared Simon allowed only three hits to the Paints as Slippery Rock slid past the Paints with a 6-2 victory.

"I knew today was going to be a tough one, simply because we spent so much emotion against Washington," Paints coach Marty Dunn told WXIZ radio, referring to a pair of ninth-inning losses the previous two days to the Wild Things. "Both times we've been (to Slippery Rock), it's been right after playing Washington, and it's tough to come in and play with the same kind of emotion."

It sure seemed so Saturday.

Travis Garcia finally broke through against Cline with a sixth-inning RBI single, ending the no-hitter and the shutout with one swing.

Problem was, by that time Slippery Rock was riding a four-run lead.

The Paints' day was rough right from the start, again thanks to the same kind of screwy problems that have plagued the team all summer. Brian Marshall fanned the first batter he faced in the bottom of the first inning, but a passed ball charged to catcher Dan Cummins on the third strike allowed Phil Butch to reach first base.

And, of course, he later scored.

That was part of a three-run first frame for the Sliders that included RBIs by Anthony Albano, Bernie Dennis and Jason Curry.

Overall, Marshall (2-3) pitched well, allowing four runs - only two of them earned - on three hits in four innings. But the lefty had to be removed from the game early due to injury.

"We knew there was something (wrong) right from the beginning," Dunn said of Marshall. "He didn't have the same velocity as he has had. Come to find out, it was a strain, maybe an oblique muscle."

Marshall was removed in favor of Justin Drabek, who was sharp over his 31¼3 innings. Drabek allowed one run on three hits while striking out one. Brian McCullough gave up a run on a hit in two-thirds of an inning of relief of Drabek.

The Paints' only other run scored in the seventh, when Dan Cummins scored on a passed ball. But that was another part of the Paints' offensive letdown. After stranding two in the sixth, Chillicothe left the bases loaded in the seventh, despite being in that situation with only one out.

Even with the loss - Chillicothe's fifth straight - the Paints didn't lose any ground in either the division or in the wild card hunt. They stand 111¼2 games behind the Wild Things in the East and five games out of the wild card.