Rays win despite missing shot at pitching perfection
BALTIMORE — Zipping through the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup with incredible ease, Ryan Yarbrough was blissfully unaware of his role in a potentially historic performance until the Tampa Bay Rays left-hander was deep into the finest outing of his baseball career.
After taking over for Ryne Stanek in the third inning Sunday, Yarbrough was poised to be part of the major leagues’ first combined perfect game.
“I was so locked in, not until I went out there in the eighth to warm up and I heard a kid yell, ‘Don’t blow it,’ did I realize what the situation was,” the 27-yearold Florida native said.
Hanser Alberto beat the shift with a leadoff opposite-field single in the ninth inning, wrecking magic in the making and taking some of the edge off Tampa Bay’s 4-1 victory.
Mixing a cut fastball with a sinker and a deceptive changeup, the 6-foot-5 Yarbrough (8-3) was literally unhittable — until the ninth.
“Man, that would have been cool, but I can’t get upset about the hit against the shift,” said Yarbrough, who is 24-9 for his MLB career after debuting in 2018. “It has helped me so much in the past.”
Tampa Bay’s try for the combo perfecto came two days after a pair of Los Angeles Angels pitchers teamed up for a no-hitter while wearing the jerseys of late teammate Tyler Skaggs. Though they’ve only got a total of 26 wins between them this season, Stanek and Yarbrough sure looked like All-Stars on this day.
“Both of them were really impressive,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Stanek was in the zone and established pitches, and Yarbrough came in and picked right up. A fun game to be part of.”
The bid for perfection ended when the right-handed hitting Alberto — batting around .400 against lefties this year — pushed a grounder to the right side, precisely where the second baseman usually stands. Stevie Wilkerson followed with a single, and an RBI single by Anthony Santander off Oliver Drake enabled Baltimore to break up the shutout.
Emilio Pagan struck out Trey Mancini for his sixth save this year, and the Rays followed with an obligatory celebration that could have been far more enthusiastic had the team completed the perfect game.
“See if we can do it again next time,” Cash said with a grin.
The franchise’s only no-hitter was on July 26, 2010, by Matt Garza against the Detroit Tigers.
Recalled from Triple-A Durham before the game, Yarbrough had already had three stints with Tampa Bay this season while shuffling between the minors and the big leagues.