Baltimore Orioles vs Cleveland Guardians

CLEVELAND -- — Parker Messick took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, José Ramírez homered for the third time in four games and the Cleveland Guardians opened a seven-game homestand with a 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. Making his 11th major league start, Messick (3-0) faced one batter more than the minimum through eight innings before Leody Taveras led off the ninth with a grounder that just eluded diving second baseman Juan Brito and went into right field for a single. Blaze Alexander followed with a line-drive single to center before the rookie left-hander was removed to a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,748. Taylor Ward's single off closer Cade Smith loaded the bases, and Gunnar Henderson's sacrifice fly drove in Taveras. Pete Alonso hit an RBI double that put runners at second and third with one out. Smith then retired pinch-hitter Colton Cowser on a fly to center and Samuel Basallo on a grounder for his fourth save. The 25-year-old Messick walked two and equaled a career best with nine strikeouts. He was charged with two runs in eight-plus innings, his longest outing in the majors. He threw 112 pitches, 78 for strikes. The most recent no-hitter in the majors was Sept. 4, 2024, when Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relievers combined to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-0 at Wrigley Field. Cleveland has the longest current gap between no-hitters. The team’s last one was Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays. Chase DeLauter walked in the first and Ramírez drove a first-pitch fastball from Shane Baz (0-2) into the right-center stands to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. Steven Kwan hit an RBI single in the fifth and George Valera added a run-scoring single in the sixth. Up next Orioles RHP Chris Bassitt (0-2, 9.00 ERA) faces Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (0-2, 6.38) on Friday. ------ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb