CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians rookie Joey Cantillo’s bid to end Cleveland’s 43-year no-hitter drought ended in the seventh inning Monday on a base hit to right field by White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
Cantillo, 24, making his fifth major league start (sixth appearance), tossed 6 2/3 perfect frames before Benintendi yanked a 2-0 slider on the ground past a diving Andrés Giménez at second.
Cantillo retired the first 20 batters he faced, utilizing a devastating changeup on his way to a career-high 10 strikeouts. He becomes the second Guardians pitcher in the last two weeks to toss at least six perfect innings in a game, joining teammate Alex Cobb who was perfect through six against the Pirates at Progressive Field on Sept. 1.
Cantillo was looking to become the first Cleveland pitcher with a perfect game or no-hitter since Len Barker blanked the Blue Jays on May 15, 1981, and the first rookie to throw a perfect game in major league history.
Barker’s perfect game took place 43 years, two months and six days ago, a span of 15,823 days. Every other team in the majors has thrown a no-hitter since Barker’s perfect game.
Cantillo becomes the seventh Cleveland pitcher to throw at least six no-hit innings since Barker’s perfect game. Cobb, Triston McKenzie, Carlos Carrasco, Cody Anderson, Corey Kluber and Charles Nagy all went at least six innings without allowing a hit. Carrasco’s bid went the deepest, as Joey Butler broke things up with two out in the ninth inning on a line drive base hit over the glove of Jason Kipnis.
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