The Rays threw nine no-hit innings against the Red Sox today, but while the no-no was erased during a wild tenth inning, Kevin Kiermaier‘s walkoff homer gave Tampa a 3-2 win. Six different Rays pitchers held Red Sox batters without a hit or run in the first nine innings of the game, but Tampa Bay’s lineup was disqualified (on two hits) against Boston pitching as well. The Sox eventually broke out for two hits and two runs in the top of the 10th, but the Rays roared back in the bottom half of the inning to grab what might have been the most unusual win of the season.
This is the 15th time in major league history that a prospective no-hitter has not been resolved to the extra innings and only the second time such a game has been pitched by more than one pitcher. Matt Garza‘s Gem on July 26, 2010 remains the only no-hitter in Rays franchise history. Tampa has been on the wrong end of no-hit games five times, with three of those five perfect games being (of Mark Buehrle, Dallas Bradenand Felix Hernandez).
A few more notes from St. Pete…
- Seiya Suzuki was known to be on the Rays’ target list for the off-season and the club seemed poised to make a big investment. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Rays’ offer to Suzuki was “close” to the five-year, $85 million contract the outfielder eventually got from the Cubs. Between that push for Suzuki and the Rays’ even more surprising interest in Freddie Freeman Last winter, it could indicate that Tampa Bay is poised to be more financially aggressive than usual in pursuit of a World Series, which could set the stage for some interesting trading opportunities as the deadline nears. It also seems like the Rays have plans for Suzuki given how he was on fire for the first two weeks of his major league career.
- Ryan Yarbrough will throw a rehab start at triple-a today, ray’s manager Kevin Cash said Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters. If all goes well, Yarbrough could be activated from the 10-day injured list in time to start the Rays’ game against the Mariners on Thursday. Yarbrough is yet to serve this season with a groin injury. Yarbrough, who worked as a reliever, opener, bulk pitcher and traditional starter in his four MLB seasons, has a 4.30 ERA over 499 2/3 career innings with Tampa.