For the second straight outing, Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta flirted with a no-hitter.
MLB news: Jake Arrieta nearly no-hits Red Sox, Rajai Davis hits a walk-off grand slam, Bryce Harper returns
Jake Arrieta comes four outs short of a no-hitter at Fenway Park, while Rajai Davis sends the Tigers to a dramatic walk-off win. Elsewhere, Scott Kazmir’s apparent leg injury proved to be nothing more than cramps, and Bryce Harper returned from the DL.
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Arrieta took his no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday night before a Stephen Drew single gave Boston its first hit with two outs in the frame. The 28-year-old had allowed only one baserunner, a fifth-inning walk to Mike Napoli, prior to Drew's hit.
In all, Arrieta struck out 10 Red Sox hitters, while surrendering just the one hit in 7 ⅔ innings. No Boston batter even reached second base against Arrieta.
The right-hander's stellar outing Monday night comes on the heels of a strong start against the Reds on June 24 in which Arrieta retired the first 18 batters he faced. In six June starts, Arrieta allowed just four earned runs, while striking out 48 hitters and walking only six in 39⅓ innings.
Arrieta’s bid for a no-hitter finally brought some attention to what has been a tremendous 2014 season for the 28-year-old. Following Monday’s outing, Arrieta now boasts a 1.81 ERA, a 1.96 FIP and more than 4.5 times as many strikeouts as walks in 64 innings for the Cubs.
Davis sends Tigers to walk-off win
The A's looked to be headed to a comfortable 4-1 win against the Tigers on Monday in Detroit, but Rajai Davis had other plans.
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, the 33-year-old Davis sent a 1-0 pitch from Sean Doolittle over the left field fence for a dramatic walk-off home run. The long ball was Davis' sixth homer this season and sent the Comerica Park crowd — along with Davis and his teammates — into a celebratory frenzy.
According to Dave Hogg of Fox Sports Detroit, since World War 2, the Tigers had hit only one walk-off grand slam while down three runs in the ninth inning. That home run came off the bat of Alan Trammell, who spoke before Monday’s game as the Tigers celebrated the 30th anniversary of the World Series-winning 1984 club.
Davis’ walk-off grand slam lifted the Tigers to their 45th win this season and helped Detroit maintain a four-game lead over Kansas City atop the AL Central standings.
Kazmir leaves game early with injury
Prior to Davis' heroics, A's starter Scott Kazmir left his Monday outing early during the middle of an at-bat with an apparent leg injury.
But according to MLB.com’s Jane Lee, Kazmir simply felt his left calf cramp up during his last two pitches, and the left-hander suffered no serious injury. Prior to leaving the game early, Kazmir had allowed four hits and a run in 5⅓ innings.
Despite their tough loss, the A’s can at least be thankful that Kazmir likely won’t miss any extended period of time.
The left-hander has been stellar for Oakland since signing a two-year, $22 million contract this past offseason. Through Monday’s start, Kazmir now has a 2.61 ERA to go along with 91 strikeouts and 24 walks in 103 innings pitched this season.
Harper returns as Nationals win
Bryce Harper made his return from the DL on Monday as the Nationals topped the Rockies, 7-3. Harper had been sidelined since April 25 with a torn ligament in his left thumb.
The 21-year-old batted sixth in the Washington lineup and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI single to plate the game’s first run.
In 91 plate appearances prior to the injury, Harper batted .289/.352/.422 with a home run and seven extra-base hits.
Nationals starter Jordan Zimmerman earned the win and lowered his ERA to 2.95 by allowing seven hits and two runs in six innings pitched.
See More:
