SAN DIEGO -- After 7,858 games, the San Diego Padres are still waiting for their first no-hitter.
Jordan Lyles was the latest to give the long-suffering fans hope that it could finally happen. After he retired his 22nd consecutive batter by striking out Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies to open the eighth inning Tuesday, the crowd of 19,598 at Petco Park got loud.
But then Trevor Story swatted an 0-1 pitch into left field for a single, leaving Lyles five outs shy of the first no-hitter game in Padres history. The Padres won 4-0 against the Rockies, Lyle's old team.
The Padres are the only major league team without a no-hitter. While the right-hander's effort was brilliant, it's now on the list of close calls that goes back to July 21, 1970, when Manager Preston Gomez lifted Clay Kirby after eight no-hit innings against the New York Mets.
Asked if there as a protocol for how players react in the dugout during a no-no bid, Manager Andy Green said: "We don't really know. We've never had one.
"I'd love to see it," Green said. "Honestly, in those moments, I'm just like everyone else. We want to see something special. We did see something very special today, but we were looking for five more outs."
Story's single landed just in front of left fielder Franchy Cordero.
"After we struck out CarGo, that's when it kind of got real for me," said Lyles (1-1), who moved into the rotation last week. "The crowd started to get loud and then we made two good pitches to Trevor."
Story hit a slider that was down and away. "I just saw a replay on TV. It was a good pitch, exactly where I would throw it again," Lyles said. "But after he made contact, being a pitcher, you know places were balls land after contact and I felt like it was a good chance it was going to touch grass. But we made a good pitch. It was a clean hit, so it was all good."
Lyles then walked Pat Valaika and made way for Kirby Yates after 85 pitches. Lyles matched his career high with 10 strikeouts. The Rockies hit only two balls out of the infield before Story singled.
This was the second-closest a Padres pitcher came to perfection. Chris Young lost a perfect game bid when he gave up a home run to Gabe Kapler with two outs in the eighth at Milwaukee on Sept. 7, 2008.
Tyson Ross lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the eighth at Arizona on April 20 when Cordero appeared to misjudge a ball by Christian Walker.
San Diego was no-hit by four Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers on May 4 in Monterrey, Mexico.
CUBS 3, BRAVES 2 Cubs catcher Willson Contreras helped Chicago throw out two runners at home plate and another at third base before rallying for two runs in the ninth inning. After Ronald Acuna Jr. homered against Carl Edwards Jr. (2-0) for a 2-1 lead in the eighth, Albert Almora Jr. and Addison Russell hit consecutive doubles and Ben Zobrist came through with a two-out, run-scoring single off Arodys Vizcaino (1-2).
MARLINS 4, DODGERS 2 The Los Angeles Dodgers went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position against Wei-Yin Chen and four relievers and were beaten by a last-place team for the fifth consecutive game. The National League champions managed only five hits after being swept in a four-game series at home by woeful Cincinnati.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, BREWERS 1 Daniel Descalso singled home Jarrod Dyson with two outs in the eighth inning, and Arizona snapped a six-game losing streak.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TIGERS 9, INDIANS 8 JaCoby Jones homered and doubled, and Detroit rallied in a five-run seventh as Andrew Miller (1-2) allowed two inherited runners to score and gave up two runs of his own. Pete Kozma hit a tying, two-run double, and Miller walked John Hicks with the bases loaded.
RAYS 6, ROYALS 5 Jonny Venters (1-0) got two outs for his first victory since Sept. 27, 2012, while with Atlanta against the Mets. The left-hander had been out since 2012 due to four major elbow surgeries, including three Tommy John operations, before returning to the majors this season.
ATHLETICS 5, RED SOX 3 Stephen Piscotty hit a home run in his first at-bat after being reinstated from the bereavement list and saluted his late mother as he crossed home plate, helping lead Oakland in a game delayed almost two hours because of weather.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 7, WHITE SOX 0 Trevor Williams (5-2) scattered six hits in seven innings, and Adam Frazier homered to start a four-run first for Pittsburgh.
TWINS 4, CARDINALS 1 Bobby Wilson hit his first home run since Sept. 21, 2016, for Tampa Bay, a two-run drive off Luke Gregerson that capped a three-run seventh. Jose Berrios (4-4) surrendered one run on two hits and struck out 10 for the Twins.
METS 12, BLUE JAYS 2 Noah Syndergaard won for the first time in five weeks, knocking in two early runs against the team that traded him to rouse a sluggish New York Mets offense.
Sports on 05/16/2018