Six Tigers Have Lost No-Hitters With One Out To Go

Two years ago today, Matthew Boyd announced his emergence as Tigers ace by taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning, only to lose it with two outs.

Boyd became the sixth Tiger to lose a no-hitter on the final out. After the game I summarized for Vintage Detroit each near no-no:

Matt Boyd lost a no-hitter Sunday in excruciating fashion, on a double with two outs in the ninth inning at Comerica Park. The Tigers have lost five other no-hitters in their history with one out to go. Cruelly, three of these foiled no-hitters would have been perfect games.

Tommy Bridges – August 5, 1932

The diminutive pitcher future manager Mickey Cochrane called “150 pounds of sheer guts” was untouchable on this day at Navin Field, striking out a season-high seven with his knee-buckling curveball. He had a perfect game after 26 batters. With the score 13-0 and the game miles out of reach, Washington manager and future Hall-of-Famer Walter Johnson pinch hit for his pitcher, and Dave Harris lined a single to left-center. Bridges retired the next batter to complete the one-hitter. As Joe Cox describes in his recent book Almost Perfect, Johnson’s decision was widely debated: some Tigers publicly criticized it, and the Sporting News asked “Was It Sportsmanship?” Bridges gracefully said Johnson made the right call and added, “Besides, any pitcher would prefer a bona-fide one-hitter to a gift no-hitter.” The following season, Bridges took a no-hitter into the ninth inning three times and lost each one.

Read more

Related Reading

11 no-hit bids turned final-out heartbreakers – from MLB.com

Image: Collage by Vintage Detroit