MLB GAME RECAP

Carrasco almost no-hits Rays as Tribe wins again

The Sports Xchange

July 01, 2015 at 7:08 pm.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the third night in a row, the Cleveland Indians took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Carlos Carrasco lost his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning, settling for an 8-1 win Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

Carlos Carrasco almost had a no-hitter against the Rays. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Carrasco, a 28-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, struck out 13 Rays batters and faced the minimum entering the ninth inning. He was one strike away from history when Rays left fielder Joey Butler lined an RBI single to right field, just over the glove of leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis.

Reliever Austin Adams came in and recorded the final out for Cleveland.

The Indians (36-41) dominated the Rays for the third game in a row, their wins by a combined score of 21-4. The Rays (42-38) lost for the eighth time in 10 games and fell out of first place in the American League East.

Tampa Bay batters hit only two balls out of the infield until the ninth inning.

Carrasco’s bid at a perfect game ended with one out in the seventh, when he walked Butler on a full count after retiring the first 19 batters in order. The Rays hit into a double play next, so Carrasco had still faced the minimum with his no-hitter intact.

Tampa Bay began the bottom of the ninth with a walk and a hit batter. A fielder’s choice for the first out put runners at the corners. Carrasco struck out center fielder Kevin Kiermaier for the second out but couldn’t get Butler to finish the gem.

The Indians’ last no-hitter came in 1981 when Len Barker threw a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Stadium. The Rays have been no-hit five times in their 18-season existence, including three perfect games that were thrown against them since 2009.

The Rays had the Toronto Blue Jays’ Marco Estrada take a perfect game into the eighth against them on June 24, so Wednesday marked the fourth time in eight days that the Rays went five innings without a baserunner.

After slow starts at the plate in the previous two wins, the Indians had their bats out early Wednesday, jumping out to a 5-0 lead against Rays starter Alex Colome in the first three innings.

Cleveland led 2-0 in the second inning after a two-run double by right fielder Brandon Moss.

The Indians added two in the third on an RBI single by left fielder Michael Brantley and a sacrifice fly by designated hitter David Murphy. Kipnis brought in another run in the fourth with a fielder’s choice.

Moss hit added a three-run home run in the eighth — his 13th of the season — to make it an 8-0 lead.

NOTES: Indians RHPs Cody Anderson, Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco took perfect games into the sixth inning on consecutive nights against the Rays. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that hasn’t happened for any team since at least 1961. … The Rays recalled RHP Preston Guilmet and LHP C.J. Riefenhauser from Triple-A Durham to fill the two bullpen openings that were created after Tuesday’s loss when the team optioned RHP Tyler Yates to Durham and designated RHP Ronald Belisario for assignment. Guilmet came in with a 6.75 ERA from two appearances earlier this season, while Riefenhauser had a 7.94 in five games. … Three key Rays players made rehab appearances for Class A Charlotte on Wednesday. RHP Jake Odorizzi (oblique) threw four innings in his first rehab start, allowing two hits and one run. DH John Jaso (wrist) went 2-for-5, and 1B James Loney (finger) finished 2-for-3.

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