CLEVELAND — A standing ovation greeted Slade Cecconi as he walked off the mound after the top of the eighth inning on Monday night at Progressive Field. A smile came across the right-hander’s face, and he doffed his cap and waved to offer his appreciation.
Cecconi flirted with franchise history on Monday, when he carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning of the Guardians’ 10-2 win over the Royals. The right-hander was six outs away from becoming the first Cleveland pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Len Barker, who tossed a perfect game on May 15, 1981.
Michael Massey recorded Kansas City’s first hit in the eighth, when he hit a leadoff single to left-center field. Cecconi bounced back by getting Carter Jensen to ground into a 5-6-3 double play and Kyle Isbel to ground out to end the frame.
While Cleveland’s no-hit drought will continue, Cecconi and the Guardians can take solace in the right-hander delivering one of the best starts of his career. He held the Royals to one hit and three walks over eight scoreless innings.
Cecconi flirted with history despite recording just three strikeouts, thanks to him generating plenty of weak contact. Kansas City’s average exit velocity against Cecconi was 89.7 mph. That marked his fifth lowest in a start this season.
The Guardians’ offense backed Cecconi with a season-high 16 hits, including seven doubles. Monday marked their first time scoring double-digit runs since July 29 vs. the Rockies (also 10).
