Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Sonny Gray came within six outs of throwing
a no-hitter and the Oakland Athletics cruised to an 8-0 Opening Day win over
the Texas Rangers on Monday.
Gray (1-0) was seeking to become the second pitcher in MLB history to toss a
no-hitter in the first game of the season, but Ryan Rua broke up the bid with
a ground ball through the hole in right to start the eighth inning.
Cleveland legend and Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller threw the lone Opening
Day no-hitter for the Indians against the White Sox on April 16, 1940.
The Oakland ace, who ended Texas’ 2014 season with a 4-0 shutout, struck out
three and walked one batter over eight phenomenal frames.
Stephen Vogt crushed a three-run homer and Ben Zobrist cranked a two-run blast
in his first at-bat with the Athletics, who ended an MLB-record streak of 10
consecutive Opening Day losses.
Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up
four runs on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts in four-plus innings.