The Blue Jays' Aaron Sanchez throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning on Tuesday.Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore’s Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder between the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry the Toronto Blue Jays over the Orioles 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Seeking to throw the second no-hitter in Blue Jays history, Sanchez walked four and hit a batter before it all came apart. After Beckham’s double, Anthony Santander singled to right and rookie Chance Sisco followed with an RBI double to make it 1-all.
Sanchez (1-1) got the victory, though, when Granderson hit a sidearmed fastball from Darren O’Day (0-1) over the right-field scoreboard. It was his first homer since signing as a free agent with Toronto this past off-season.
Roberto Osuna got three straight outs for his fifth save. He became the youngest player in major-league history (23 years, 62 days) with career 100 saves.
Orioles starter Andrew Cashner pitched seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks. He struck out six.
Toronto Blue Jays' Curtis Granderson high-fives teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning.Patrick Semansky/The Associated Press
On almost any other night, that would have been good enough to get the win. But Cashner − making his third start with Baltimore after signing as a free agent in February − had to settle for matching zeroes with Sanchez.
The Blue Jays broke up the scoreless duel in the eighth with an unearned run on a throwing error by Santander on a single to right by Yangervis Solarte.
Toronto’s defence helped keep the no-hitter in the early innings. Right fielder Steve Pearce and centre fielder Kevin Pillar made leaping catches on deep fly balls, and second baseman Devon Travis raced into the outfield to snag a fifth-inning blooper by Beckham.
Until the eighth, Sanchez was in the running to join Dave Stieb as the only pitchers to throw no-hitters for Toronto. Stieb beat Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990.