No question, Rays keep making no-hitter history
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joe Maddon ducked into the food room in the Angels clubhouse on Wednesday, the morning after Reid Detmers had thrown his no-hitter against the Rays.
“Someone said, ‘So how many of those have you seen,’” Maddon relayed. “I said, ‘Well ... ‘”
In managing the Rays from 2006-14, Maddon saw five — the one Matt Garza threw for them in July 2010, and four thrown against them (of six total) in barely more than three years.
Officially, it was a 508-game stretch from Mark Buehrle’s perfect game on July 23, 2009, to Felix Hernandez’s perfect game Aug. 15, 2012, with two others 43 games apart in 2010: Dallas Braden’s Mother’s Day perfect game May 9 and Edwin Jackson’s eight-walk, 149-pitch no-no on June 25.
At the time, it seemed like less.
So much so that Maddon in 2010 added a photo to his Tropicana Field office desk of Pants Rowland, who managed the 1917 White Sox, the only team to reach the World Series after being no-hit twice in the same season. He also further channeled Rowland that September in arranging a “Loudmouth Pants Rowland Road Trip” with players and staff sporting ostentatious golf slacks.
Even though it had been nearly 10 years since their last blanking, with Detmers’ Tuesday masterpiece, the five times the Rays have been no-hit since the start of the 2009 are the most in the majors over that span, matching the Mariners and Padres.
Add in Derek Lowe’s 2002 no-hitter for Boston against them, and the Rays have been blanked the second most in the majors (since their 1998 inception), one behind the Padres’ seven.
If you were wondering, Maddon, between stints with the Angels (as a coach and manager), Rays and Cubs, has by his count seen 10 no-hitters, including four perfect games thrown against his clubs.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve been that guy. I’m the Forrest Gump of no-hitters.”
First-hand experience
Several current Rays had previous no-hitter experience. Harold Ramirez was on the Indians team that got blanked last September by Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader. “We didn’t hit anything that night,” Ramirez said. “(Tuesday) we hit some hard, but at people. (Detmers) got lucky.”
Catcher Mike Zunino caught a no-no for Seattle (James Paxton, 2018) and was on the bench for another (Hisashi Iwakuma, 2015), and came close twice with the Rays. “Catching one is way better (than being no-hit),” he said.
Manuel Margot was with the Padres when they got no-hit in May 2018 by Walker Buehler and three Dodgers relievers. “Nasty,” Margot said.
Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter a year ago, May 19, for the Yankees at the Rangers. And manager Kevin Cash was on the Red Sox bench for no-hitters thrown by Clay Buchholz (2007) and Jon Lester (2008).
About Tuesday night
The Rays were just the fifth of the 170-plus teams to be no-hit in the expansion era (since 1961) to do so striking out two (or fewer) times. Also, the 1969 Braves (zero times) vs. the Cubs’ Ken Holtzman, 1970 A’s (one) vs. the Angels’ Clyde Wright, 1980 Giants (two) vs. the Dodgers’ Jerry Reuss, 2011 White Sox (two) vs. the Twins’ Francisco Liriano. … The 12-0 score was the most lopsided of the six no-hitters against the Rays, surpassing the 10-0 in Lowe’s game at Fenway Park. … The Rays were the sixth team to be no-hit while allowing 12 or more runs; most recently the 2020 Brewers (vs. Cubs, Alec Mills), first by the 1905 Tigers (vs. White Sox, Frank Smith). … Detmers, 22 years and 306 days, was the youngest to no-hit the Rays; Hernandez in 2012 was 26, 129.
Rays rumblings
The Rays are planning to drop their gray jerseys for next season, and will wear either the navy or Columbia blue ones on the road. … Centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier treated 20-plus teammates, staff and significant others to seats in a suite for Thursday’s Lightning game. That included Ramirez, a native of Colombia, watching hockey for the first time. Ramirez, who bought a Stamkos jersey as soon as he got to the arena, said he enjoyed the whole experience: “It was fun, exciting. And good music.” … Austin Meadows returns to the Trop Monday with his new Tigers team. … Just because he could, reliever J.P. Feyereisen gave teammates blue T-shirts from his family’s business, Feyereisen Flooring, in River Falls, Wis. “My dad and his brothers are semi-retired,” Feyereisen said. “He said, ‘You know we don’t need any more business.’” … Seeking to put down the box for the 2021 Tampa Bay Baseball Writers’ Association of America team MVP award he received Friday, Zunino joked about placing it in the adjacent locker, which belongs to Wander Franco: “That’s where the next ones are likely going.” … Daniel Park, who just graduated from the University of Tampa, was hired as interpreter for Korean Ji-Man Choi. … Going home to Baltimore next weekend during the Preakness brings an added memory for broadcaster Andy Freed. As an 18-year-old he worked the horse race as an usher. ... Give Margot an Emmy for twice faking out Bally Sports Sun’s Tricia Whitaker during a TV segment on the toasted grasshoppers sold as a concession item in Seattle, tossing them over his shoulder rather than eating them. ... Top five Rays prospects in Baseball America’s updated rankings: Shane Baz, Jose Lowe, Taj Bradley, Vidal Brujan, Curtis Mead. ... Rangers manager Chris Woodward made some headlines last week with sentiments shared by others in calling Yankee Stadium “a Little League ballpark” after losing a game on a homer over the short rightfield fence.
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