DETROIT - Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before Minnesota’s Joe Mauer broke it up with a one-out single, and that was the only hit the Detroit right-hander allowed in the Tigers’ 6-0 victory over the Twins on Friday night.
Sanchez fell two outs shy of his second career no-hitter, but thanks to Mauer it was just another near miss this season. There have already been five one-hitters this year, according to STATS.
It was Sanchez’s second gem in about a month - he set a franchise record with 17 strikeouts in eight innings against Atlanta on April 26.
Sanchez (5-4) struck out 12 on Friday and allowed three walks.
“It’s not that I go to the mound and want to do something special, it’s just that I want to go nine innings, go deeper, get a good command, get a good game,” Sanchez said. “When I come to the eighth inning, I think about it. But when I come to the ninth inning, it’s really tough with those guys.”
The home crowd gave him a standing ovation when he came out to start the ninth, and he immediately struck out Jamey Carroll. Mauer, followed with a clean line drive up the middle - to almost the same spot where Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison’s hit landed last year when he broke up a no-hit bid by Detroit’s Justin Verlander, also with two outs to go.
Sanchez instinctively reached up for Mauer’s hit, but there was no chance for anyone - least of allthe pitcher - to catch it. Sanchez then jerked his head back and spun in frustration, but with a bit of a smile on his face.
After he struck out the next two hitters to end the game, he shared a hug with catcher Alex Avila.
Jordan Zimmermann, Chris Sale, Shelby Miller and Jon Lester have also thrown one-hitters this season. That list doesn’t even include Yu Darvish. The Texas star came within an out of a perfect game at Houston on April 2, but he allowed a hit and didn’t finish the game.
ANGELS 5, ROYALS 2 Mike Trout had his 21st multi-hit game, Jason Vargas pitched into the eighth inning and Los Angeles beat Kansas City to extend its winning streak to six games.
ORIOLES 10, BLUE JAYS 6 Chris Davis hit his major league-leading 16th home run, Nick Markakis had three hits and three RBI, and Baltimore beat host Toronto.
YANKEES 9, RAYS 4 Brett Gardner, Lyle Overbay and Jayson Nix each drove in two runs as New York beat host Tampa Bay.
RED SOX 8, INDIANS 1 John Lackey allowed two hits in seven innings, Mike Carp hit a three-run home run and host Boston beat Cleveland on a rainy evening.
ATHLETICS 6, ASTROS 5 Chris Young connected on a three-run home run in the ninth inning to lift Oakland to a victory over host Houston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE REDS 7, CUBS 4 Joey Votto extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a home run, and Ryan Hanigan and Brandon Phillips also hit home runs, powering host Cincinnati to its fourth consecutive victory over Chicago.
NATIONALS 5, PHILLIES 2 Jordan Zimmermann became the National League’s first eight-game winner and host Washington followed a calamitous road trip with a winning start to a home stand, beating Philadelphia.
BREWERS 2, PIRATES 1 Marco Estrada gave up one run over seven innings and Alex Gonzalez had a two-run double, leading host Milwaukee to a victory over Pittsburgh.
INTERLEAGUE WHITE SOX 4, MARLINS 3 (11) Jeff Keppinger drove in the winning run on a single in the 11th and John Danks was solid in his season debut as host Chicago beat Miami.
Friday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Washington 5, Philadelphia 2 Cincinnati 7, Chicago Cubs 4 Milwaukee 2, Pittsburgh 1 Atlanta at NY Mets, susp., rain San Diego at Arizona, (n) St. Louis at LA Dodgers, (n) Colorado at San Francisco, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 10, Toronto 6 Detroit 6, Minnesota 0 Boston 8, Cleveland 1 NY Yankees 9, Tampa Bay 4 LA Angels 5, Kansas City 2 Oakland 6, Houston 5
INTERLEAGUE Chicago White Sox 4, Miami 3 (11)
Sports, Pages 24 on 05/25/2013