The Rays were oh so close.
Just two outs away from a combined no-hitter, Craig Kimbrel, the once-dominant closer who was waived by the Mets last month, gave up a two-run homer to the Royals’ Carter Jansen to break up the no-hit bid in the Rays’ 13-2 win.
It was nearly the second no-hitter in MLB this season after three Astros combined to no-hit the Rangers on May 25, meaning the last single pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Blake Snell in August 2024.
It also would’ve been the Rays first no-hitter since 2010, when Matt Garza no-hit the Tigers on 120 pitches.
Casey Legumina started the game for the Rays, tossing 1 1/3 innings while throwing just 14 pitches. It was his first scoreless outing in three appearances.
Ian Seymour entered for bulk innings and tossed seven scoreless frames, with his lone blemish coming on a sixth-inning walk issued to Starling Marte.
Seymour also struck out a season-high seven batters in the win, and lowered his ERA from 4.98 to 4.32.
Kimbrel received the ball for the ninth inning and issued a leadoff walk to Marte before Jensen’s two-run blast.
Kimbrel remained in the game after the homer and retired both Royals batters to seal the deal.
While the Rays pitching stole headlines by nearly finishing the no-hitter, their offensive production was stellar, with 13 runs on 15 hits.
The Rays blasted four homers, with three coming by Junior Caminero, who continues to anchor the team’s lineup at just 22 years old.
The Rays salvaged a four-game series split with the Royals with the win, and are 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL East pending the Bronx Bombers’ game in Boston on Thursday night.
The 45-33 Rays host the 41-39 Diamondbacks in an interleague showdown Friday night.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
