For the first six innings Sunday, Rays starter Jake Odorizzi was in total control against the Yankees. He took a no-hitter into the seventh and New York's only baserunner up to that point had come on an error by shortstop Brad Miller. Odorizzi was dominant.
The Rays led 1-0 through six innings thanks to an Evan Longoria single, but the lead and the no-hit bid didn't last much longer. With Brett Gardner on first following a walk, Odorizzi caught way too much of the plate with a fastball to Starlin Castro, who homered to give New York a 2-1 lead. Here's the video:
With one swing of the bat the no-hitter, the shutout, and the lead was gone. It's always tough when the no-hitter and shutout are erased with a homer, but blowing the lead too? Ouch. That's demoralizing. The Rays offense deserves some of the blame there. They stranded two runners in the fifth and the bases loaded in the sixth.
With the one-run lead, Yankees manager Joe Girardi turned the game over to his unmatched bullpen trio of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman. They combined for seven strikeouts in the final three innings to nail down the 2-1 win (box score).
| YANKEES PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Nathan Eovaldi (W, 6-2) | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3.71 |
| Dellin Betances | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.93 |
| Andrew Miller | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.87 |
| Aroldis Chapman (S, 7) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.93 |
The trio of Betances, Miller, and Chapman has now combined for 99 strikeouts and seven walks in only 54 1/3 innings this season. Most of that is Betances and Miller -- Chapman has only thrown 9 1/3 innings since returning from his suspension -- but still. Wowza.
Prior to Sunday, the last time the Yankees won a game while being one-hit was 102 years ago. You have to go all the way back their 1-0 win over the Indians at the Polo Grounds on July 10, 1914. Here's the box score. You'll notice that was a six-inning game, presumably due to rain.
The last time the Yankees won a nine-inning game despite being one-hit? You have to go back even further:
First time since at least 1913 that Yankees have won a game of 9+ innings with 1 hit or fewer.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) May 29, 2016
That 1913 season was their first season as the Yankees. They were the New York Highlanders before that. It's been over a century since the Yankees last did what they did Sunday, which is win a full nine-inning game despite being held to one hit.
By the way, the Yankees are the third team to win while being one-hit this season. Felix Hernandez was involved in the other two games. He lost a one-hitter to the Rangers on Opening Day, then was on the mound when the Mariners beat the Royals with one hit on April 29.
