Norris back in the groove as Tigers almost pull off no-hitter

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz reacts to allowing Chicago White Sox’s Tyler Saladin … The Tigers were playing their second doubleheader of the season, while the White Sox were playing their fourth. Designated hitter Jose Abreu added an RBI double for Chicago (72-78).

The effort could have marked the seventh no-hitter in the major leagues this year, a feat that has only happened three other times (1990, 1991, 2012).

Buck Farmer took over on the mound to start the sixth inning of the 0-0 game, and retired the three batters he faced, striking out two. The twinbill was scheduled after the team’s contest on June 27 was rained out.Detroit remained one game behind Chicago for fourth place in the Central with a 10-3 loss to Kansas City on Sunday.

David Robertson pitched the ninth and struck out the last two batters for his 31st save. First pitch is set for 7:08PM ET.

DENVER – Starling Marte homered among his four hits and came within a triple of the cycle, and Pittsburgh beat the Rockies.

The Pirates reduced their magic number to one for securing at least an NL wild card.

2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on.

HOUSTON – Evan Gattis and Carlos Correa hit two-run homers, and the Astros beat the Angels in a matchup of American League wild-card contenders. They trail the Chicago Cubs by 9 1-2 games for the second wild card spot.

“Jeff did a spectacular job in the first game”, he said. Evan Longoria hit a sacrifice fly to right and Tampa Bay got another run when Mookie Betts’ throw home sailed high and ended up in the stands for a 3-2 lead. With two outs, Beckham drove the ball to the opposite field for his fifth home run. Samardzija threw 60 of 88 pitches for strikes, struck out six and walked zero, and allowed only a fifth-inning single to Victor Martinez.

“Actually surprised me that there was never a combined no-hitter in Tigers history”.

After evening their season series by sweeping a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox look to continue their good fortune when they play the third contest of the four-game series on Tuesday.