St. Louis Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha on Tuesday night had a no-hitter until two outs in the ninth inning, when Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals reached base with an infield single.
Michael Wacha loses no-hitter in ninth inning
Dilip VishwanatEntering the ninth, Wacha had allowed just two walks while striking out eight hitters. He got pinch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi to ground out harmlessly to shortstop Pete Kozma before notching strikeout number nine against Denard Span.
Just one out away from the first Cardinals no-hitter since 2001, Wacha had the unenviable task of facing one of the hottest hitters in baseball in Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman entered play on Tuesday with a 1.037 OPS and eleven home runs in September. As luck would have it, Zimmerman swung at the first pitch and hit a slow bouncer that made it over Wacha’s head. It was too slow for Kozma, and Zimmerman beat it out for an infield single.
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