DETROIT (AP) — Indians starter Triston McKenzie retired the first 23 Detroit batters in order before Harold Castro lined a single to right with two out in the eighth inning and Cleveland beat the Tigers 11-0.
The 24-year-old stunned the Comerica Park crowd of 25,684 hoping to see Miguel Cabrera’s 500th homer.
Instead, they gave McKenzie a standing ovation after Castro’s hit and another after he finished the inning with his 11th strikeout.
McKenzie came within four outs of breaking baseball’s longest no-hit drought.
Cleveland hasn’t had one since Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays.