OAKLAND, Calif. -- A's lefty Sean Manaea pitched the first no-hitter against Boston in almost 25 years, with an overturned call preserving the gem Saturday night in Oakland's 3-0 victory over the sizzling Red Sox.
Manaea struck out 10, walked 2 and threw 108 pitches to finish off Oakland's first no-hitter since Dallas Braden tossed a perfect game against Tampa Bay in 2010.
Manaea got Hanley Ramirez to ground out to complete the first no-hitter vs. the Red Sox since Seattle's Chris Bosio did it on April 22, 1993.
"I just kept telling myself, keep everything the same, and not let anything get too big for me," Manaea said.
Manaea had a brief career as a member of the Class AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2015. He started two games, going 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA before the Kansas City Royals traded him to the A's as part of a deal that landed the Royals utility man Ben Zobrist.
Boston looked as if it had a hit with two outs in the sixth at the Oakland Coliseum. Andrew Benintendi (Arkansas Razorbacks) hit a grounder to the right side, tried to dodge a tag by first baseman Matt Olson and was called safe.
After the umpires conferred, Benintendi was ruled out for going wide of the baseline. Benintendi ran onto the grass in foul territory to get around Olson.
"Do I agree with it? No," Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said. "It is what it is."
Sandy Leon reached in the Red Sox fifth when A's shortstop Marcus Semien ranged into shallow center field and dropped a popup trying to make an over-the-shoulder catch. The play was scored as an error.
Manaea said he figured it was a hit.
"I didn't even think about it until I looked up in the seventh or eighth, and I was like, 'Oh my God, why is there still a zero on there?' " Manaea said. "So after that, my adrenaline started pumping a little bit again, and I really wanted to finish this thing out."
Manaea (3-2) had been battered by Boston in three previous starts, going 1-2 with a 13.50 ERA.
But the 26-year-old cooled off a Red Sox team that had won eight in a row and 17 of 18. Boston began the game with a major league-best .293 batting average.
Manaea retired 14 consecutive batters after walking Mookie Betts to lead off the game.
A lot of Red Sox fans were in the announced crowd of 25,746, and many rose to their feet when Manaea took the mound in the ninth.
Betts hit a ball to the warning track with one out. After Benintendi walked with two outs on a full count, Ramirez hit a grounder to Semien for an easy force play at second.
"My heart was beating out of my chest, and I was trying to do everything I could [to stay calm]," Manaea said before he was interrupted by teammates who smeared celebratory shaving cream in his face, dumped water and Gatorade on his head, and left him with a plastic bubble gum tub for a hat.
This was the first no-hitter in the majors since Miami's Edinson Volquez pitched the only one of the 2017 season against Arizona on June 3.
Chris Sale (1-1) struck out 10 and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings.
Sports on 04/22/2018