13-0 Lead, 8.1 No-Hit Innings: The Ninth-Inning Homer That Rocked Baseball

Can you even believe what went down in St. Petersburg last night? Seriously, my jaw is still on the floor after hearing this. The Tampa Bay Rays were so agonizingly close, I mean *so* close, to pulling off a combined no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals. They had a ridiculous 13-0 lead heading into the ninth inning, 8 1/3 no-hit innings on the board, and then... BAM! History shattered in the blink of an eye. You gotta feel for them, but man, what a wild ride that was!

They Had It In the Bag, Right?

Let's break down how close they really were. The Rays were dealing from the jump. Opener Casey Legumina retired all four batters he faced through 1 1/3 innings. Then Ian Seymour came in, absolutely dealing, striking out seven batters to keep the no-hit dream alive. This was a combined effort, pure and simple, and everyone was locked in. The defense was making plays too, with Chandler Simpson making a huge running catch near the foul pole in the fifth inning on a ball off Salvador Perez's bat, keeping a perfect game intact at that point! He wasn't done, either, snagging a hard line drive from Ian Collins to end the eighth. They retired the first 16 batters before Starling Marte finally drew a one-out walk in the top of the sixth on a full count. Still, a no-hitter was very much on the table.

The Ninth-Inning Nightmare Nobody Saw

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Coming The Rays were cruising, absolutely crushing the Royals 13-0, thanks in large part to Junior Caminero, who belted three homers himself. You're thinking, "This is it, right? Just three more outs, a combined no-hitter, what a story!" Then the ninth inning rolled around, and Craig Kimbrel came in to close it out. He walked Starling Marte, okay, no biggie, just a runner. But then, with one out, Carter Jensen stepped up and launched a two-run homer. Just like that, the combined no-hitter was gone. Poof. Five outs away from just the second no-hitter in the majors this year, after the Astros pulled one off against the Rangers back on May 25. Talk about a gut punch. The Rays have never even thrown a perfect game in their franchise history, and their only solo no-hitter was Matt Garza back in 2010. What makes it even wilder? Kimbrel actually finished a combined no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021! You can't make this stuff up. Man, what a night across the league! While the Rays were out there riding that rollercoaster, our Mariners were battling it out too. The score? Not what we wanted, honestly. The Seattle Mariners ended up taking a 1-5 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It stings, no doubt. But it's a long season, folks, and every game counts. We know our squad's got the grit to shake this off and come back stronger. Let's keep that energy up for our guys in blue and green! Go M's!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.