Detroit @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 26, 2010 ) Detroit 0, Tampa Bay 5
A day after Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay Rays history, the team will send its lone struggling starter to the mound looking to take the second contest of a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers.
James Shields, who has lost eight of his last 11 decisions, makes the start on Tuesday for the Rays against Justin Verlander of the Tigers.
The focus, however, will likely remain on Garza, who faced the minimum 27 batters in his outing.
The game, which was won 5-0 by the Rays, had the makings of a historic night from the onset.
While Garza completed his no-hitter by striking out six and walking one, Max Scherzer of the Tigers took a no-hitter of his own into the sixth inning.
The only time in baseball history that neither team recorded a hit in regulation came in 1917 when both Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs and Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds pitched nine innings of no-hit ball.
Vaughn eventually lost his no-hitter in the top of the 10th, as the Reds notched two hits and scored the winning run. Toney retired the side in the bottom of the 10th and recorded a 10-inning no-hitter. This game was long considered a "double no-hitter", but Vaughn is no longer credited with a no-hitter under baseball's current rules.
Scherzer's wildness proved to be his undoing on Monday. He walked three batters in the sixth inning and fell behind Matt Joyce. On a 3-2 count with the bases loaded in a scoreless game, Scherzer realized he had to throw a strike and Joyce hammered a grand slam inside the right field foul pole.
Scherzer allowed a hit to Jason Bartlett immediately after the grand slam and - with his pitch count soaring - manager Jim Leyland removed him from the game.
The hurler took the loss after allowing four runs and two hits with four walks.
Garza has won six of his last seven decisions and finished his gem on 120 pitches - 80 of which were strikes. He got Ramon Santiago to fly out to Ben Zobrist to end the game.
The closest Detroit came to a hit was when Zobrist made a leaping catch off a ball hit by Danny Worth in the third inning.
It was the fifth no-hitter of the season and second in the American League. The other was a perfect game by Oakland Athletics hurler Dallas Braden, ironically, against the Rays.
Carlos Pena belted his team-leading 22nd home run in the eighth inning to close out the scoring.
Verlander is 4-0 lifetime against the Rays with a 3.55 ERA. He's won seven of his last eight decisions and is fifth in the American League with 124 strikeouts.