Montgomery, Boxberger combine for Durham no-hitter

Left-hander Mike Montgomery, the Rays' No. 18 prospect, and right-hander Brad Boxberger combined to throw a no-hitter Saturday for Triple-A Durham. The Bulls defeated Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 5-0.

Montgomery threw 106 pitches in 8 1/3 innings before being relieved by Boxberger. The duo's only blemish was a walk Montgomery issued to Russ Canzler to lead off the second inning. The final 24 RailRiders were retired in order.

It was the longest start of Montgomery's career. He struck out nine batters and induced 11 ground-ball outs.

Montgomery was a part of the package the Rays acquired from the Royals in exchange for James Shields and Wade Davis in December 2012. He has struggled at Triple-A the last few seasons, but had started the year strongly even before Saturday's no-hitter. In 25 2/3 innings in five starts, he has a 2.81 ERA and a 28-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opponents are hitting just .183 against the 24-year-old.

Saturday's game also marked the first hit in more than a year for shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, the Rays' No. 1 prospect and No. 81 overall. He had been hitless in his first two games since returning to action Wednesday after spending a year on the disabled list. He tore ligaments in his left knee in a collision at second base last April and missed the rest of the season as he recovered from surgery. He also suffered a strained calf in Spring Training, delaying his return by three weeks.