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

CLEVELAND — Slade Cecconi flirted with baseball immortality Monday. The Guardians right-hander didn't allow a hit through seven innings in a 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. "As soon as he hit it, I didn't want to look," Cecconi said. "A lot of emotions came through." As he finished the eighth, he got a huge ovation from the sparse crowd. "It was pretty special," Cecconi said. "Taking it all in was special." It has been 44 years since Len Barker authored his perfect game against Toronto. Cleveland's no-hit streak remained intact. Guardians ace Gavin Williams took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the New York Mets on Aug. 6 before giving up a home run to Juan Soto. "It's an anomaly," Cecconi said. "I'm sure someone will (throw a no-hitter), maybe tomorrow." The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder improved to 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA. He had 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 starts. His last victory had been July 18 vs. the Athletics, his first outing after the All-Star break. He utilized his curveball to keep the Royals on their heels. "Not a lot of guys in the league throw it like I do," he said. "It was the best command of it I've had all year." Manager Stephen Vogt said Cecconi's command wasn't great in the early going. "He was sharp when he needed to be," he said. Vogt said Cecconi's curveball is devastating. "It's big and slow and has teeth," he said. "It's not easy to throw." Cecconi, making his career-high 20th start of the season, 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. The last no-hitter in the major leagues was 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 leapfrogged Kansas City (73-71) in the American League Central Division and the wild card race. "It's a race to the end right now," Cecconi said. "Everyone in the locker room believes we're a playoff team. There's not a guy in there that doesn't believe we're going to be playing in October." 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 in Steven Kwan in the third for a 2-0 advantage. Brayan Rocchio was cut down on the basepaths 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 in the inning. Jones' shot into the left-center gap plated two runs and opened up an insurmountable 8-0 lead. The Guardians erupted for a season-high seven doubles on the night. The Guardians knocked out Royals starter Ryan Bergert (2-2, 3.48) in the fourth inning when they sent 11 men to the plate. The rookie right-hander went 3 1/3 innings and allowed 11 hits, eight runs (all earned) and three walks. Bergert struck out three. Cleveland shortstop Gabriel Arias was removed in the sixth inning with inflammation in his right wrist. Vogt said Arias' wrist was "barking at him." "We'll see how he feels (today)," Vogt said. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com.