NEW YORK – Pinch-hitter Gleyber Torres broke up Baltimore's no-hit bid with an infield single that bounced off the glove of second baseman Jahmai Jones with one out in the seventh inning Saturday.
With runners at first and third, Torres rolled a ball to the left of second base against Marcos Diplan. Jones tried to backhand the ball but couldn't control it, allowing Anthony Rizzo to score from third. Rizzo had reached on Jones' error leading off the inning.
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The Orioles were trying for what would have been the record ninth no-hitter in the majors this season, topping the mark set in 1884 — the first year overhand pitching was permitted. It also would have been the second this season for the last-place Orioles after John Means threw the franchise’s first since 1991 on May 5 against Seattle.
Rookie right-hander Chris Ellis held New York without a hit over five innings in his third major league start and was pulled after throwing a career-high 92 pitches. The 28-year-old allowed several hard-hit balls but none that dropped for hits.
Left-hander Tanner Scott relieved and struck out Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton during a perfect sixth.
Rizzo reached on Jones' error starting the seventh, and Scott walked Brett Gardner before Diplan came on to face pinch-hitter Gary Sánchez. Diplan got Sánchez to fly out to center before Torres' well-placed dribbler ended the bid.
Diplan induced an inning-ending double play from pinch-hitter Luke Voit a batter later, preserving a 3-1 lead.
New York hit six balls over 96 mph in the first four innings, including two by Judge. His first hard liner was 114.9 mph and was dropped by left fielder Ryan McKenna for an error. He also hit one 103.8 mph that was caught on the warning track in center.
Ellis struck out two, walked three and threw two wild pitches. A third-round pick by the Angels in 2014, he is with his seventh franchise after being claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay on Aug. 20.
His first start was the day Baltimore ended a 19-game skid last month — he allowed three runs in three innings of a 10-6 win over the Angels. He was sharper in his second start, pitching one-run ball over 4 2/3 innings against Toronto with a career-most 69 pitches.
Arizona rookie Tyler Gilbert threw the majors’ most recent no-hitter on Aug. 14, and the Chicago Cubs threw the only combined effort this year on June 24. The other no-hitters this season were thrown by San Diego’s Joe Musgrove (April 9), Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox (April 14), Cincinnati’s Wade Miley (May 7), Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull (May 18) and the Yankees’ Corey Kluber (May 19).
There also have been a pair of seven-inning no-hitters this season, which don’t officially count in the Major League Baseball record book. Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner did it in the second game of a doubleheader at Atlanta on April 25, and five Tampa Bay pitchers combined to accomplish the feat to close out a doubleheader against Cleveland on July 7.
Most of those gems were thrown before MLB cracked down on the use of sticky foreign substances by pitchers in late June.
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