Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Monday, which lead to a convincing 11-0 win over the Washington Nationals.
Snell, who tossed six no-hit innings, finished the game with just one hit allowed and 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings. He improved to 10-4 with a 2.31 ERA this season.
Rays 22-year-old first baseman Jake Bauers collected four hits with two runs scored and a walk. But it was Kevin Kiermaier who really blew the doors open with a second-inning grand slam.
Tampa Bay has produced a number of elite pitchers over the past decade and it appears Snell is another on his way to stardom.
Nationals star Bryce Harper had another disappointing game, finishing 0 for 2 with a walk. He is now batting just .217 this season and may be costing himself money during free agency this off-season.
KELLER ONE FOR THE FUTURE
The Kansas City Royals are not very good this season, but they may have found one for the future in starter Brad Keller, who tossed seven shutout innings in a 2-0 win over the Angels. Keller, now 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA this season, has made four starts since moving out of the bullpen, and has allowed just six runs in 22 2/3 innings.
MILLER WITH SEASON DEBUT TO FORGET
Diamondbacks starter Shelby Miller made his season debut, but looked a bit rusty while allowing five earned runs off six hits, and two walks, in a 9-5 loss to the Marlins. Miller has posted ERAs or 6.15 and 4.09 in two seasons with Arizona after four straight years with sub-4.00 ERAs with the St Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.
MONDAY'S RESULTS
Oakland Athletics 5-4 Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals 2-0 LA Angels
New York Yankees 4-2 Philadelphia Phillies
Seattle Mariners 5-3 Baltimore Orioles
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 New York Mets
Tampa Bay Rays 11-0 Washington Nationals
Miami Marlins 9-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Cincinnati Reds
Texas Rangers 7-4 San Diego Padres
Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 Houston Astros
St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Cleveland Indians
LA Dodgers 2-1 Chicago Cubs
YANKEES AT PHILLIES
New York got the best of Philadelphia on Monday with Aroldis Chapman slamming the door on a 4-2 win. Both teams look like prime post-season contenders, and they may both be active before the July 31 trade deadline. The Yankees are in a heated battle with the Boston Red Sox for the AL East crown, while the Phillies are battling the Nationals and Braves in the NL East.