NEW YORK — Gavin Williams came within two outs of Cleveland's first no-hitter in 44 years before Juan Soto homered with one out in the ninth inning, and the Guardians completed a three-game sweep of the reeling New York Mets with a 4-1 victory Wednesday.
Williams (7-4) walked three and struck out six, including Francisco Lindor to lead off the ninth. Two pitches later, Soto followed with a home run just beyond the leaping grasp of center fielder Angel Martinez.
The Guardians have not thrown a no-hitter since Len Barker twirled a perfect game on May 15, 1981. Their no-hitter drought is the longest in the majors.
Williams, who was the first player on the field in the ninth with nobody warming up in the Guardians' bullpen, retired Pete Alonso on a fly to right but exited after walking Brandon Nimmo for the third time.
The Guardians have had 11 no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning in franchise history, including three combined bids.
The right-hander threw 126 pitches — 17 more than his previous career high and the most in the majors since Alex Cobb threw 131 in a one-hitter for the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 29, 2023.
Hunter Gaddis got Mark Vientos to fly out to earn his second save.
David Fry led off the second by homering against David Peterson (7-5). Angel Martinez hit a two-run homer in the third, and Gabriel Arias added an RBI triple in the sixth.
Soto's homer allowed the Mets, who have lost eight of nine games, to avoid being no-hit for the ninth time in team history.
The Guardians' no-hitter drought is at 7,115 games, counting the postseason.
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
