ANAHEIM Calif. (AP) — José Suarez of the Los Angeles Angels lost a perfect game in the seventh inning when the Texas Rangers’ Marcus Semien led off with a single.
Suarez ran into more trouble in the inning when Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer to right field to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
The Venezuelan left-hander threw 77 pitches and struck out five in retiring the first 18 batters.
It was the first time Suarez had a no-hitter through six innings. His previous low in hits allowed at that point of a game was two, which has happened twice this season.
There hasn’t been a perfect game in the majors since Seattle’s Felix Hernandez threw one on Aug. 15, 2012, against Tampa Bay.
Suarez was trying for the Angels’ second no-hitter of the season. Los Angeles rookie Reid Detmers did it against the Rays on May 10. Shohei Ohtani took a no-hitter into the eighth inning Thursday night against Oakland.
There have been two other no-hitters this season, with five New York Mets pitchers combining against Philadelphia on April 29, and three Houston Astros hurlers against the New York Yankees on June 25.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports