Written by Mark Chiarelli and T.R. Sullivan
Rangers starter Colby Lewis came within three outs of a no-hitter in pitching his team to a 5-1 victory over the Athletics on Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum. The no-hit bid ended on a leadoff double in the ninth by Max Muncy as right fielder Nomar Mazara could not make a tough catch at the wall.
His shutout ended when Coco Crisp hit a line-drive double to left and Ryan Rua just missed making a terrific diving catch. Lewis ended the day with a two-hit complete game.
Lewis retired 23 straight hitters before walking Yonder Alonso with two out in the eighth. He was trying to throw the sixth no-hitter in club history and the first since a perfect game by Kenny Rogers on July 27, 1994.
“I felt great from the time I threw my first pitch in my warmup,” Lewis said. “I had a lot of whip in my arm. I felt like I would have a decent day.”
Lewis, making a serious case to be selected to the American League All-Star team, is now 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 14 starts. He threw the first complete game of the season for the Rangers on an afternoon when manager Jeff Banister was determined not to use relieversSam Dyson and Matt Bush because of their heavy workload.
“Colby knew exactly where we were with the bullpen,” Banister said. “The veteran workhorse, he just went out and got the job done. It was a special day, but it could have been even more special.”
Lewis’ last complete game was on Sept. 11 of last year, a two-hit shutout of the Athletics. He retired 21 straight in that one before losing the perfect game on a double by Danny Valencia.
“That’s a grind. It’s embarrassing – even to go that deep into the game,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “If there’s a silver lining, it’s that we didn’t get no-hit, shut out, perfect game. But still, our at-bats, really up until the last inning, I think we only hit one ball hard, and that was Yonder’s to center. Not our best offensive performance.”
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