Karns heads near no-no in Durham's walk-off win

Led by right-hander Nate Karns, the Rays' No. 15 prospect, Triple-A Durham took a combined no-hitter into the ninth inning Friday against Charlotte. Though Knights catcher Josh Phegley broke up the no-hit bid with a single off reliever Steve Geltz, the Bulls went on to win, 1-0, in 11 innings.

Karns began the game with six hitless innings before manager Charlie Montoyo turned the game over to his bullpen. Right-hander Doug Mathis threw two hitless innings before giving way to Geltz to start the ninth.

But with neither team able to scratch out a run, the game headed to extra innings. That changed in the bottom of the 11th, when second baseman Tim Beckham, the Rays' No. 18 prospect, led off the inning with a single. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and Mayo Acosta drove him in with a walk-off double.

Beckham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, went 2-for-5. He was playing in just his third game with the Bulls this season after missing the first half as he recovered from offseason knee surgery.

While Durham wasn't able to give him any run support, Karns pitched one of his best games of the season. He threw 103 pitches and matched his season high with 10 strikeouts. He walked five batters.

Karns was a part of the trade that sent Jose Lobaton to the Nationals in February. Karns has spent his first season with his new organization in Durham, where he is 9-6 with a 4.45 ERA. He leads the International League with 142 strikeouts and has walked 56 batters in 131 1/3 innings.