The Rays Come Close to No-Hitter

The Tampa Bay Rays were oh so close. They were just two outs away from a complete no-hitter when Craig Kimbrel, the former standout closer who was recently released by the Mets, hit a two-run homer off Carter Jansen, breaking the no-hitter as the Rays secured a decisive 13-2 victory over the Royals.

This near-miss would’ve marked the second no-hitter of the MLB season, following a combined effort by three Astros pitchers against the Rangers back in May. It reminds us that the last time anyone tossed a no-hitter was Blake Snell in August 2024.

Almost forgettable, but this would’ve been the Rays’ first no-hitter since Matt Garza’s 120-pitch feat in 2010 as a member of the Tigers.

Casey Legmina got the start for the Rays, needing only 14 pitches to record just one-third of an inning. This was actually his first shutout in three starts.

Ian Seymour took on a significant workload, pitching seven scoreless innings—though he did allow a walk to Starling Marte in the sixth. Striking out a season-high seven batters helped Seymour lower his ERA from 4.98 to 4.32, which is a pretty solid improvement.

In the ninth, Kimbrel took the mound and managed to walk Marte right off the bat, which then led to Jensen driving in those two runs. After the home run, he composed himself and closed out the game by retiring the next two Royals batters.

The Rays’ pitching staff may have been the talk of the town for almost achieving a no-hitter, but let’s not overlook their offensive explosion—15 hits and 13 runs say a lot. The highlight was Junior Caminero, just 22, who knocked three home runs, reinforcing his importance in the lineup.

This win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Royals, pulling the Rays to just 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East as they prepare for a Thursday night matchup against the Bronx Bombers in Boston. On Friday, the Rays (now 45-33) will take on the Diamondbacks (41-39) in an interleague contest.