West Sacramento, California — Athletics pitcher J.T. Ginn had history within his grasp Saturday night, but a seventh-inning single by Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz — a sharp liner to center field with one out — ended his no-hit bid against Washington.
Following the base hit, manager Mark Kotsay pulled Ginn from the mound. The crowd responded with a standing ovation for the right-hander, who left the game with Oakland holding an 8-0 lead as the club attempted to snap a 10-game losing streak.
Over his time on the mound, Ginn struck out seven batters and issued three walks, throwing 82 total pitches — 50 of which found the strike zone.
Up until the seventh inning, Washington’s only baserunners had come via walks — a pair in the second inning and one more in the fifth, all with two outs. The Nationals came into Saturday’s game fresh off an explosive performance, having racked up a season-best 21 hits in a lopsided 23-4 win over the Athletics on Friday.
The closest Washington came to recording a hit before Ruiz’s single was a play in the fifth inning when Dylan Crews appeared to beat out an infield grounder to third baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer. Crews was initially called safe, but the Athletics challenged the ruling and a replay review overturned the call, preserving the no-hit bid for one more inning.
Kuroda-Grauer also contributed defensively earlier in the game, making a diving catch in the outfield on a popup off the bat of CJ Abrams in the fourth inning.
This was not the first time Ginn has come agonizingly close to a no-hitter. On May 18, he carried one into the ninth inning at the Los Angeles Angels before surrendering a leadoff single to Adam Frazier and then a two-run home run to Zach Neto, handing the Angels a stunning 2-1 victory. That outing remains the only complete game of Ginn’s three-year major league career. Heading into Saturday, he carried a 7-6 record with a 3.67 ERA on the season.
The last no-hitter thrown by an Athletics pitcher was by Mike Fiers against the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, back when the franchise still called Oakland home.
The only no-hitter in the major leagues this season came on May 25, when four Houston Astros pitchers combined to blank the Texas Rangers.
