Just two days after a pair of Angels pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter against the Mariners, the Rays fell just short of MLB history. Two Tampa Bay pitchers -- Ryne Stanek and Ryan Yarbrough -- combined to throw eight perfect innings on Sunday against the Orioles, setting down the first 24 batters they faced. There has never been a combined perfect game in MLB history, and things remained that way when Baltimore's Hanser Alberto singled on a weak grounder to the right side on the first pitch of the ninth inning.
The Orioles ended up scoring a run in the ninth and the Rays used two other pitchers to close out a 4-1 win. Here's the full box score from the nearly history-making afternoon. Tampa Bay's only no-hitter was on July 26, 2010, by right-hander Matt Garza against the Detroit Tigers.
Ryne Stanek started the game and threw two innings without giving up a hit while striking out two O's batters.Ryan Yarbrough took over in the third and went on to throw six perfect frames before allowing back-to-back hits in the ninth.
24 up, 24 down.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 14, 2019
A team record for consecutive batters retired, and consecutive batters retired to begin a game. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/JrbZ2SNarw
Stanek and Yarbrough, both 27 years old, were drafted as starting pitchers. Stanek became Tampa Bay's most popular opener after being converted to a reliever while in the minor league system in 2016. Yarbrough made his MLB debut last year, and while the southpaw was also converted to a reliever, he has averaged nearly four innings in his 43 relief outings. Making things more interesting is the fact that Yarbrough was recalled from Triple-A Durham the night before his outing on Sunday.
“It was more fun than anything.”@RyanYarbrough2 and @rstanek_55 join @TriciaWhitaker to talk about what was working on the mound today, their conversation after their perfect game was ended in the 9th, and Ryan’s standing O in the dugout👏👏👏#RaysUp #MLB pic.twitter.com/sUB3Mvyrua
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) July 14, 2019
There have been 23 perfect games in MLB history and none since Mariners righty Felix Hernandez sat down 27 in a row against the Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. The Angels threw the second no-hitter of the season on Friday while Oakland Athletics right-hander Mike Fiers no-hit the Cincinnati Reds in May for the first on the season.
The Rays will hit the road for a four-game series against the Yankees in New York, beginning on Monday. Blake Snell (5-7, 4.70 ERA) will take the mound and face Yankees' James Paxton (5-3, 4.09 ERA).
