AMERICAN LEAGUE
AFP AND AP, ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
PHOTO: AFP
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in franchise history and the fifth in the major leagues this season with a 5-0 blanking of Detroit on Monday.
The 26-year-old Garza faced 27 batters in nine innings of work for the Rays in the franchise’s 2,039th game, who have been on the wrong end of some strong pitching this season. He allowed a second-inning walk.
“I don’t care who it came from, we needed one,” Garza said. “We’ve been on the wrong end of way too many of those in the last year. We’ve seen three of those and we’ve seen some almost happen. We needed one just for our own confidence.”
PHOTO: AFP
The Rays have been held hitless three times since July last year, including a pair of perfect games.
This is the first time there have been at least five no-hitters in a season in 19 years. There were seven no-hitters in the 1991 season.
Garza posted his 11th win of the season to open a four-game home stand at the Rays’ Tropicana Field.
“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.”
Besides walking one, Garza fanned a half dozen Tigers. Brennan Boesch was the only base runner in the second inning for Detroit. Boesch got out on an inning-ending double play.
Tampa Bay was the victim of two no-hitters earlier this season. They were no-hit May 9 by Oakland’s Dallas Braden and June 25 by Arizona’s Edwin Jackson.
The San Diego Padres and New York Mets are the lone MLB teams that have not thrown a no-hitter. The Mets joined the league in 1962 and the Padres in 1969. The Rays came into being in 1998.
Garza’s teammates mobbed him near the mound after a performance.
“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 teammate Ben Zobrist helped preserve the no-hitter by making a leaping catch above his head as he retreated toward the outfield wall in the third inning.
“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.”
YANKEES 3, INDIANS 2
In Cleveland, Curtis Granderson hit a two-run shot and Alex Rodriguez missed out on his 600th homer as New York beat Cleveland.
Granderson connected with one out off Jake Westbrook (6-7), who held Rodriguez hitless in three at-bats and was clinging to a 2-1 lead. Jorge Posada reached on a one-out single before Granderson delighted the many Yankees fans in the crowd of 27,224 hoping to see homer history.
Rodriguez popped out to first against reliever Chris Perez in the ninth to finish an 0-for-4 night.
Choo Shin-soo put Cleveland ahead 2-1 in the sixth with an RBI double off Javier Vasquez (9-7). Travis Hafner hit a solo homer in the second. It was the designated hitter’s fifth straight hit.
BLUE JAYS 9, ORIOLES 5
In Toronto, Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 28th home run and Aaron Hill and Adam Lind also connected as Toronto beat Baltimore for the 10th straight time.
Hill hit a two-run homer in the fourth and the Blue Jays smacked two more in the fifth. Bautista hit a three-run shot and Lind added a solo blast.
Toronto leads baseball with 152 homers this season, including a league-high 37 this month. The Blue Jays also lead the majors with 82 homers in home games.
TWINS 19, ROYALS 1
In Kansas City, Joe Mauer had five hits and a career-best seven RBIs and Danny Valencia went 4-for-4 with a grand slam for his first major league home run to lead Minnesota past Kansas City.
Mauer, last year’s AL MVP, was 5-for-5 with three singles, a double and a three-run home run that made it 17-0 in the seventh. The five hits tied his career best as the Twins set a season-high in runs and tied their season-best with 20 hits.
Wilson Betemit’s RBI double off Anthony Slama with two out in the ninth prevented the Royals from suffering their worst shutout loss ever.
In other AL play, it was:
White Sox 6, Mariners 1
Red Sox 6, Angels 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PHILADELPHIA
Brad Lidge escaped another bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies held off the Colorado Rockies 5-4 on Monday to complete a four-game sweep.
Backup catcher Brian Schneider’s two-run triple sent the Phillies toward their fifth straight win.
The two-time NL champions, still minus injured All-Star second baseman Chase Utley, pulled within four-and-a-half games of idle East-leading Atlanta.
Seth Smith hit a two-out, two-run homer 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.
BREWERS 3, REDS 2
In Milwaukee, pinch-hitter Jim Edmonds homered with two outs in the eighth after just missing a go-ahead shot on the previous pitch as Milwaukee rallied to beat Cincinnati.
Rickie Weeks hit a two-run homer in the third inning as Milwaukee won its fifth straight to match a season-best streak after trailing 2-0 early.
Edmonds has been unable to play the field since his right Achilles’ tendon tightened Saturday night, but he didn’t need to run hard after his at-bat against Bronson Arroyo (10-6) in the eighth.
Edmonds hit a big blast off a fastball, dropping the bat only to watch his shot sail foul. He sent the next pitch over the Reds’ bullpen in right-center field.
CUBS 5, ASTROS 2
In Houston, Geovany Soto drove in two runs and Alfonso Soriano had two doubles and an RBI to help Chicago beat Houston.
Cubs starter Carlos Silva (10-4) yielded five hits and one run with four strikeouts. Carlos Marmol allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning for his 19th save in 23 opportunities.
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.
Derrek Lee doubled with one out in the third inning and scored when Marlon Byrd grounded into a force out. Byrd scored when Soriano hit his second double of the game that made it 4-1.
In other NL play, it was:
Marlins 4, Giants 3
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