Thriller! D-backs' Jackson no-hits Rays

Thriller! D-backs' Jackson no-hits Rays
Righty walks eight and tosses 149 pitches in first career no-no

By Adam Berry / MLB.com

06/25/10 10:41 PM ET

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ST. PETERSBURG -- D-backs right-hander Edwin Jackson no-hit his former club, the Rays, on Friday, despite walking eight batters and tossing 149 pitches in the process.

It was the first career no-hitter for Jackson, and the fourth thrown in baseball this season, including two perfect games. It was the second time the Rays have been no-hit this season, the first time by A's starter Dallas Braden on May 9.

The only other no-hitter in club history came on May 18, 2004, when Randy Johnson threw the 17th perfect game in Major League history in a 2-0 win over the Braves.

"I just told myself to keep attacking the strike zone," Jackson said. "Whatever happens, let it happen. If it's meant to be, it's going to happen. Go out there and relax and don't try to make anything happen."

Jackson was far from perfect, throwing just 79 of his 149 pitches for strikes, becoming the first pitcher to throw more than 140 pitches in a game since Livan Hernandez in 2005 while benefiting from a few key defensive plays. But the most important number, zero, stayed in Tampa Bay's hits column the whole night.

"[Leaving him in so long] was a pretty controversial move for [D-backs manager A.J. Hinch], especially with me having so many pitches," Jackson said. "But I just told him, I'm not coming out until I give up a home run or a hit, and if he wanted to rest me the next start he could, but I'm not coming out of this game.""

Jackson, who entered the game with a 4-6 record and a 5.05 ERA, found success against his old squad for the second successive time since leaving after the 2008 season. He also beat the Rays in Tropicana Field while playing for the Tigers in '09.

"It just so happened it was against a team that I played for," Jackson said.

After throwing 134 pitches through eight innings, Jackson started the ninth by striking out B.J. Upton on three pitches, got Hank Blalock to fly out to left and then walked pinch-hitter Willy Aybar on four pitches. Jason Bartlett took a strike, fouled one off and grounded out to shortstop Stephen Drew, who made the throw to Adam LaRoche for the final out.

Jackson walked Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena to load the bases with no outs in the third inning, but he forced Matt Joyce to fly out to right, got some help from third baseman Mark Reynolds on a nice grab and throw home on an Upton grounder and got out of the inning on Blalock's groundout to second base.

Jackson walked two batters in each of his first two innings and allowed eight baserunners through three. He got a little defensive help in the fourth from Tony Abreu, who ran down Jason Bartlett's chopper up the middle and got the throw to first in time.

In the eighth inning, Pena slapped a routine grounder right at shortstop Stephen Drew, playing to the right of second base as part of the defensive shift teams employ against Pena. Drew fumbled the ground ball, and Pena reached on an error.

But Jackson induced Joyce to pop out to right, and with Upton at the plate, pinch-runner Carl Crawford was caught stealing by catcher Miguel Montero, who made a spot-on throw to Abreu.

Adam Berry is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.