MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins came two outs shy of no-hitting the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, as reliever Jovani Moran allowed a line-drive double by Bobby Witt Jr. to break up the bid in the team’s 6-3 win.
Joe Ryan started for Minnesota and pitched a gem, throwing seven hitless innings while striking out nine and walking two.
But Ryan has never gone past seven innings in his career, and manager Rocco Baldelli removed him to start the eighth, a move that drew boos from fans at Target Field.
Moran came on and pitched a perfect eighth, then retired the first batter of the ninth. But back-to-back walks were followed by three straight hits and three runs before he escaped any further damage.
Including their history as the original Washington Senators, the Twins have had seven no-hitters, the most recent by Francisco Liriano in 2011. The Royals have been no-hit two times, with Nolan Ryan doing it for the Angels in 1973, and Jon Lester doing it for the Red Sox in 2008.
There have been three no-hitters in the majors this season; two have been combined.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.