Hammel haunted by HR, loses control in 6th
KANSAS CITY -- When Jason Hammel began the sixth inning in the Royals' 5-3 loss to the Rangers on Friday night, the right-hander worked with a 3-0 lead, and he was a little more than halfway in a no-hit bid.When Hammel was pulled with two outs, the Rangers had tied
KANSAS CITY -- When
When Hammel was pulled with two outs, the Rangers had tied the game on
Through five innings, Hammel had thrown 81 pitches. He said he was aware of the no-hitter, but he wasn't focused on it, especially because he thought an error charged to first baseman
Hammel started the sixth inning with a flyout, but the no-hit bid ended on
"I wish I had a longer wingspan coming off that bleeder from Andrus," said Hammel, who is 6-foot-6.
Following a single from
"You take back the one pitch and [Hammel] was outstanding," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
"That's been the theme for the year," Hammel said. "It's just been one pitch in which, more or less, we want to be down in the zone with it. It ended up costing us. We let them back in the door there. If we shut the door there, I think we win the ballgame."
Wilson Alexander is a reporter for MLB.com based in Kansas City.