Kiermaier Ends Combined No-Hit Bid, Rays Top Red Sox 1-0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier broke up a combined no-hit bid by the Boston Red Sox with a one-out double in the eighth inning and Manuel Margot scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 1-0 victory Thursday night.
Margot got Tampa Bay's second hit, a two-out single in the ninth off Matt Barnes (3-2). He stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Christian Vázquez.
After Joey Wendle was intentionally walked and with Francisco Mejía batting, Margot dashed home on Barnes' wild pitch.
Margot came off the bench to pinch-hit in the seventh and was intentionally walked.
J.P. Feyereisen (4-1), the fifth Tampa Bay pitcher, worked the ninth inning of a four-hitter.
Kiermaier lined his opposite-field hit to left off Darwinzon Hernández, the third Red Sox pitcher.
Boston starter Nick Pivetta was pulled with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh after throwing 100 pitches. His career high is 116.
Josh Taylor got the final out in the seventh before giving way to Hernández.
Pivetta finished with eight strikeouts, two walks and one hit batter.
Boston was trying to throw the seventh no-hitter in the majors this season. That would have matched 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 — the first season overhand pitching was allowed.
The no-hitters this season were thrown by San Diego's Joe Musgrove (April 9), Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox (April 14), Baltimore's John Means (May 5), Cincinnati's Wade Miley (May 7), Detroit's Spencer Turnbull (May 18) and the New York Yankees' Corey Kluber (May 19).
In addition, Arizona's Madison Bumgarner pitched a seven-inning hitless game in a doubleheader on April 25 that is not recognized as a no-hitter by Major League Baseball.
The Astros threw the most recent combined no-hitter in the majors, when Aaron Sanchez, Will Harris, Joe Biagini and Chris Devenski blanked Seattle on Aug. 3, 2019.
Tampa Bay starter Michael Wacha, who took a no-hitter into the fifth, allowed one hit and two walks in five innings. He had seven strikeouts.
Vázquez got the game's first hit with two outs in the fifth when he lifted a soft fly ball to center on a half-swing against an 88 mph changeup.
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