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CLEVELAND (AP) \u2014 Slade Cecconi didn\u2019t need anyone in Cleveland\u2019s dugout to tell him he was throwing a no-hitter. He found out on his own.<\/p>\n
Stealing a glance at Progressive Field\u2019s giant scoreboard in the fourth inning, Cecconi noticed something unusual.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, huh, a lot of zeros up there on our side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He kept it like that for a while.<\/p>\n
Cecconi took a no-hitter into the eighth before Kansas City\u2019s Micheal Massey hit a leadoff single to spoil the right-hander\u2019s bid to throw the majors\u2019 first no-hitter this season and finally end Cleveland\u2019s four-plus-decades-long drought without a no-hitter.<\/p>\n
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But that hardly mattered as the Guardians rolled to their fourth straight win, 10-2 to jump the Royals in the standings.<\/p>\n
Leaning on a slow curve ball manager Stephen Vogt said had surprising \u201cteeth,\u201d Cecconi dominated the Royals over the first seven innings before Massey lined a 2-1 fastball into left-center for Kansas City\u2019s first hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even want to look,\u201d Cecconi admitted.<\/p>\n
After Massey\u2019s hit dropped, the right-hander received a nice ovation and Cecconi stepped off the mound, took off his cap and soaked in the roars.<\/p>\n
His performance came at an optimal time for the Guardians, who moved into second place ahead of the Royals in the AL Central. Cleveland entered the four-game series 2 1\/2 games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody in that locker room believes that we\u2019re a playoff team and we\u2019ve believed that since the day we showed up to spring,\u201d said Cecconi, who was lifted after the eighth. \u201cThere\u2019s not a guy in that locker room that doesn\u2019t believe that we belong in October.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making his career-high 20th start and first against Kansas City, Cecconi, who was acquired in an off-season trade from Arizona, was in command from the outset. He needed just eight pitches to get through the first.<\/p>\n
He got a big defensive stop from second baseman Bryan Rocchio in the fourth and center fielder Daniel Schneemann raced into the gap to make a catch on the warning track in the third to keep Cecconi\u2019s no-no intact.<\/p>\n
Once he got through seven, Cecconi had gone further with a no-hitter at home than any Cleveland pitcher since 2019.<\/p>\n
Cecconi couldn\u2019t remember the last time he got so deep.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have to look back into high school to be honest with you, to really find another one,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember in college I had one. I think I went out for the fifth and took a line drive off the face that wasn\u2019t fun, broke up the no-hitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think this is definitely the furthest I\u2019ve taken in a game in the big leagues by far.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Guardians, previously known as the Indians, have been here before.<\/p>\n
They haven\u2019t had a no-hitter since Len Barker\u2019s perfect game in 1981. Their dry spell between no-hitters in the longest current one in MLB \u2014 and fourth longest all-time. It\u2019s a shocking gap considering the franchise\u2019s rich pitching history with five Cy Young Award winners over the past 44 years.<\/p>\n
Cleveland had a close call earlier this season as Gavin Williams took a no-hitter into the ninth at New York before it was broken up by Juan Soto\u2019s one-out homer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly something that sticks out,\u201d Cecconi said of Cleveland\u2019s drought. \u201cIt\u2019s an anomaly, especially because we\u2019ve seen so many people come close. So many guys come through that have won Cy Youngs and done that and you got to look at the whole picture. You can\u2019t just look at one little stat like that. And I\u2019m sure somebody will. Shoot, I mean maybe tomorrow, who knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
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