ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays finally wound up on the right side of a memorable pitching performance.
Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in franchise history and the fifth in the major leagues this season, beating the Detroit Tigers 5-0 Monday night.
“We needed one. I don’t care who it came from. We just needed one for our own confidence,” Garza said, mindful that the Rays have been held hitless four times in their 13-season history - three times in the past year. “The guys are just as excited as I am. It’s fun.”
The 26-year-old right-hander faced the minimum 27 batters in his 106th career start, allowing only a second-inning walk to Brennan Boesch, for a team that’s often been on the wrong end of pitching gems lately.
Two of the no-hitters tossed against the Rays since July 2009 were perfect games. They didn’t manage a hit Monday off starter Max Scherzer until Matt Joyce’s sixth-inning grand slam.
“It was one of those days where everything lined up,” Garza said. “The defense made great plays. I really can’t say enough about them.”
Garza (11-5) was the latest to shine in the Year of the Pitcher. The last time there were at least five no-hitters in a season was 1991, when Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan threw one of seven in the big leagues that year, according to STATS LLC.
Garza, the 2008 AL Championship Series MVP, won his fourth consecutive decision and tied a career best for victories. He retired pinch-hitter Ramon Santiago for the final out on an easy fly ball to right fielder Ben Zobrist, who made a running catch in the third to rob Danny Worth.
“That ninth inning,” Garza said, “I kept telling myself, ‘Just finish it, just finish it, just battle, battle. If it’s meant to happen, it’s going to happen.’”
Garza’s teammates mobbed him near the mound after a performance that left the New York Mets and San Diego Padres as the only big league teams without a no-hitter. The Rays began play in 1998 - the Padres in 1969 and the Mets in 1962.
The closest Detroit’s injury depleted lineup came to a hit was Worth’s two-out liner, but Zobrist made a leaping grab above his headas he ran toward the wall.
“I was able to time it just right for my jump. Caught it right in the end of my glove,” Zobrist said, smiling. “He pitched so great. It’s his day. I felt honored to be part of a game like that.”
Tigers cleanup hitter Miguel Cabrera, who’s hitting .347 with 24 home runs and 88 RBI, hit a hard liner to left leading off the eighth. Carl Crawford barely had to move to make the play.
Boesch was erased on a double play after he walked in the second.
TWINS 19, ROYALS
1 Joe Mauer went 5 for 5 with three singles, a double and a three-run home run for a career-best seven RBI and rookie Danny Valencia went 4 for 4 with a grand slam for his first major league home run as Minnesota beat host Kansas City.
YANKEES 3, INDIANS 2
Curtis Granderson hit a two-run home run and Alex Rodriguez missed out on his 600th home run in New York’s victory over host Cleveland. Granderson connected with one out off Jake Westbrook (6-7), who held Rodriguez hitless in three at-bats and was leading 2-1. Jorge Posada reached on a one-out single before Granderson’s home run. Rodriguez popped out to first against reliever Chris Perez in the ninth to finish 0 for 4.
WHITE SOX 6, MARINERS 1
Left-hander John Danks (11-7) allowed a run and six hits in eight innings to win his fourth consecutive start as Chicago beat Felix Hernandez (7-7) and Seattle for its eighth consecutive home victory. Danks is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA in three starts against Seattle this season.
BLUE JAYS 9, ORIOLES 5
Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 28th home run, a three-run shot, as host Toronto beat Baltimore for the 10th consecutive time.
National League CUBS 5, ASTROS 2
Geovany Soto drove in two runs and Alfonso Soriano had two doubles and an RBI as visiting Chicago beat Houston. Soto bruised his left foot and left the game in the middle of the sixth inning after fouling a pitch off of it earlier in the inning. Cubs starter Carlos Silva (10-4) yielded five hits and one run with four strikeouts to win after two consecutive losses. Carlos Marmol allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning for his 19th save in 23 opportunities.
BREWERS 3, REDS 2
Pinch hitter Jim Edmonds hit a home run with two outs in the eighth against Bronson Arroyo (10-6) after just missing a go-ahead shot on the previous pitch and host Milwaukee got its fifth consecutive victory and ended a six-game losing streak against Cincinnati. Rickie Weeks hit a two-run home run in the third for the Brewers.
PHILLIES 5, ROCKIES 4 Brad Lidge escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as host Philadelphia beat Colorado to complete a four game sweep and win its fifth consecutive. The Rockies lost their sixth in a row. Seth Smith hit a two-out, two-run home run off Lidge in the ninth and Colorado went on to load the bases, but Ryan Spilborghs hit a tapper to the left side of the plate. Lidge came in and made a strong throw to first base for the final out, getting his 10th save in 13 chances.
Monday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Philadelphia 5, Colorado 4 Chicago Cubs 5, Houston 2 Milwaukee 3, Cincinnati 2 Florida at San Francisco, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
NY Yankees 3, Cleveland 2 Toronto 9, Baltimore 5 Tampa Bay 5, Detroit 0 Minnesota 19, Kansas City 1 Chicago White Sox 6, Seattle 1 Boston at LA Angels, (n)
Sports, Pages 13 on 07/27/2010