The Tampa Bay Rays lost a combined no-hitter in the ninth inning Thursday when Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen slugged a one-out home run off closer Craig Kimbrel. The near-history would have been the second of the 2026 Major League Baseball season -- joining the Astros' combined no-hitter against the Rangers on May 25 -- and the 328th recognized no-hitter in MLB history and 23rd combined no-hitter. The Rays' lone no-hitter was Matt Garza's complete game against the Tigers on July 26, 2010. The Royals were last no-hit in 2008. The Rays won the game 13-2.
The Rays used an opener in Wednesday's game, as 29-year-old right-hander Casey Legumina recorded the first four outs of the game. It's the second time this season that he's filled the opener role. After Legumina's exit, bulk reliever Ian Seymour did the heavy lifting, as he worked the next 6 ⅔ innings without allowing a hit. Along the way, he struck out seven. Seymour entered the game with a 4.98 ERA for the season. The only blemish was a sixth-inning walk to Starling Marte. As for close calls, first baseman Jonathan Aranda saved the no-hitter with a sixth-inning ranging catch of a soft liner off the bat of Isaac Collins.
Collins in the eighth would hit a 106-mph line drive that carried with it an expected batting average of .890. However, the ball was struck right at Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson, who made the catch before the ball could sink to the grass.
Veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel, he of the 440 career saves, walked one and struck out one in the ninth before Jensen's home run.
The win pushed the Rays to 45-33 on the season. They trail the Yankees by 2 ½ games in the American League East and they hold the top wild-card spot in the AL. As for the Royals, after enduring not only a near no-hitter but also a game in which they were reduced to pitching a position player, they're now 34-48 with a -49 run differential on the season. That's good for last place in the not-exactly-imposing AL Central. The Royals trail the first-place White Sox by 8 ½ games and look like obvious sellers as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches.
