Slade Cecconi takes no-hitter into 8th inning as Guardians beat Royals 10-2

CLEVELAND — Guardians right-hander Slade Cecconi flirted with immortality Monday. Cecconi (6-6) didn't allow a hit through seven innings of his team's 10-2 blowout of the Kansas City Royals before 15,875 at Progressive Field. Royals second baseman Michael Massey ruined the no-hitter with a line-drive single to center field to lead off the eighth inning. It was Cecconi's 96th pitch of the game. It has been 44 years since Cleveland's Len Barker authored his perfect game against Toronto. That no-hit streak will remain intact. Guardians ace Gavin Williams took a no-hitter into the ninth inning Aug. 6 against the New York Mets before giving up a home run to Juan Soto. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Cecconi has been largely ineffective in the second half of the season. He came into Monday with two losses and six no-decisions in his last eight outings. His last victory had been on July 18 vs. the Athletics, his first start after the All-Star break. In his last start in Boston, he was shelled for seven earned runs in Cleveland's 11-7 defeat. Making his career-high 20th start of the season, Cecconi went eight innings and allowed one hit, no runs and three walks while striking out three. He threw 100 pitches, 58 for strikes. He was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason for Josh Naylor. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said the velocity on Cecconi has been very good in his last few starts. "The slider and curveball were back in Fenway (his last start)," Vogt said. "He just left some pitches over the middle, but for Slade, it's all about execution. Those two fastballs are real. When he has his spin pitches to complement them, that's when he's at his best." The last no-hitter in the major leagues was on Sept. 4, 2024, when three Chicago Cubs combined for a 1-0 gem against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thirteen of the Guardians' final 20 games, including Monday, are against clubs that are ahead of them in the playoff race. "We don't care what anybody says," Vogt said. "If they want to write us off, great. We're not going away. We're not going to quit." The Guardians (73-70) have won four in a row and have leap-frogged Kansas City (73-71) in the American League Central Division and the wild-card race. Cleveland wasted little time jumping on the scoreboard. Daniel Schneemann singled and came home on Kyle Manzardo's double for a 1-0 lead. Jose Ramirez's single drove home Steven Kwan in the third for a 2-0 advantage. Brayan Rocchio was cut down by Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel when he attempted to advance to third base on a fly ball by Schneemann. A six-run uprising in the fourth broke the game wide open. C.J. Kayfus, Rocchio, Schneemann and Nolan Jones had run-scoring doubles, and Jones' two-run shot into the left-center gap opened an insurmountable 8-0 bulge. The Guardians knocked out starter Ryan Bergert (2-2) in the fourth inning when 11 batters came to the plate. The rookie right-hander went 3 1/3 innings and allowed 11 hits, eight runs (all earned) and three walks. The GlenOak High graduate struck out three batters. Cleveland shortstop Gabriel Arias was removed in the sixth inning with inflammation in his right wrist. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com.