Braves' Newcomb falls one strike short of no-hitter vs Dodgers

Sean Newcomb came within one strike of pitching the first no-hitter by the Atlanta Braves since 1994, denied when Chris Taylor sharply singled in a 41 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Newcomb had a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning when Taylor hit a hard grounder beyond the reach of diving third baseman Johan Camargo. That came on the career-high 134th and final pitch by the 25-year-old lefty.

Newcomb (10-5) left to a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd at SunTrust Park as manager Brian Snitker removed him. Snitker took the ball and gave it back to Newcomb as a keepsake — instead, Newcomb simply tossed it toward the Atlanta dugout as he walked off, wanting no souvenir of the near-miss.

Kent Mercker was the last Atlanta pitcher to throw a no-hitter, doing it 24 years ago at Dodger Stadium. There have been three no-hitters in the majors this year.

Newcomb struck out eight and walked one against the NL West leaders. He retired the first 15 batters before walking Yasiel Puig to begin the sixth, and that was the only runner Newcomb permitted until the ninth. Shortstop Dansby Swanson made the defensive play of the day for Atlanta, ranging into shallow centre field to snare a popup by Enrique Hernandez in the second.

A first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels in 2014, Newcomb was traded to Atlanta after the 2015 season in a deal for shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Newcomb had previously pitched a no-hitter — a seven-inning performance for the University of Hartford.

Dan Winkler relieved Newcomb and gave up Manny Machado's RBI single before ending it on Matt Kemp's groundout.