Indians' Carlos Carrasco falls one strike short of throwing no-hitter

For the third consecutive night, a Cleveland Indians starter took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Tampa Bay Rays.

And this time, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco came tantalizingly close to finishing the job.

Carrasco struck out 13 Rays in a 124-pitch performance, but fell one strike from the Indians' first no-hitter in 34 years. Joey Butler lined a two-strike pitch over a leaping Jason Kipnis for an RBI single. Carrasco was removed from the game, applauding Kipnis for his effort, and the Indians recorded an 8-1 win.

"It's part of the game. I was excited. ... I started thinking about what I needed to do, throw my glove in the air or something," Carrasco said. "It was great. I almost made it."

Butler also spoiled Carrasco's perfect-game bid, drawing a one-out walk in the seventh inning.

"It's pretty discouraging when you get no hit," Butler said. "Now it kind of just looks like another loss instead of getting no-hit for a full game.

"You kind of get the sense that you're being bullied and outmatched all game, and to do it with two strikes in the bottom of the ninth," Butler added. "I just felt like I picked the guys up big-time today."

Earlier this week, Danny Salazar lost his bid in the sixth inning Tuesday night and rookie Cody Anderson lost his opportunity in the seventh Monday night.

All were bidding for the Indians' first nine-inning no-hitter since Len Barker's perfect game on May 15, 1981.

Carrasco looked destined to pull it off, getting two quick strikes in the ninth on Asdrubal Cabrera. But he ended up walking him and then hit Brandon Guyer in the back.

Two outs later, he was one pitch from finishing off Butler before the solid single over the second baseman Kipnis' head. He still recorded his 10th win of the season.

It would have been the third no-hitter in less than four weeks.

Contributing: AP

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