Minor-league team somehow loses game without giving up a hit or a walk

The box score from Monday’s game against the Clearwater Threshers and the Tampa Tarpons features some zeroes in important places. You’ll see one under the Threshers’ hits column. You’ll see another under the team’s walks column.

And yet, when you look at the score of the game, you’ll notice that the Treshers managed to win the contest 1-0. How in the world did that happen?

Extra innings rule helps minor-league team win without a hit of walk

It’s all due to the minor league’s new extra-innings rule. The new rule puts a runner on second base at the beginning of extras. Double-headers in the minors only last seven innings, so extras begin in the eighth during those games.

That’s what happened Monday. The Threshers did not have a hit or a walk heading into the eighth inning, but they began the frame with a man on second due to the extra-innings rule. That runner advanced on an error by the shortstop. The next hitter brought in the run on a fielder’s choice.

The Tarpons could not score in the bottom of the inning, giving the Threshers the improbable win despite no hits and no walks.

The Tarpons still were credited with a no-hitter

Though the Tarpons lost the game, they were still credited with a no-hitter.

The runner who started the inning on second does not get credit for a hit. From there, the Threshers managed to bring that run home on an error and a fielder’s choice. Neither of the Tarpons’ pitchers, Deivi Garcia or Christian Morris, allowed a hit during the contest. They still lost.

The error during the inning was the only thing that prevented the Tarpons from picking up a perfect game.

Not the first no-hitter to end in a loss

Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, there have been only a handful of instances where a team didn’t allow any hits and still lost. The most recent came in 2008, when Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo did not allow any hits during a 1-0 loss. It’s happened four other times in MLB history.

All of those losses came because the pitchers involved gave up at least one walk. They put runners on base. The Treshers’ win Monday was the first game in which a team lost despite not giving up a hit or walking a batter.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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