Rays come within 2 outs of a no-hitter in romp against Royals

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Jun 25, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Well, that might have been the most impressive Rays victory in a long time.

It was certainly among the most entertaining for a midday crowd filled with young campers.

Three Tampa Bay pitchers came within two outs of a combined no-hitter, and Junior Caminero had the first three-homer game of his career in a 13-2 victory against the Royals Thursday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 14,276 at Tropicana Field.

Legumina retired the first four Kansas City hitters as the designated opener before Seymour entered the game with one out in the second.

Seymour set down 12 hitters in succession before going to a full count and walking Starling Marte with one out in the sixth. Marte also drew a walk in the ninth. Seymour finished with 6 ⅔ no-hit innings with seven strikeouts before Kimbrel gave up a two-run homer to Carter Jensen with one out in the ninth.

Tampa Bay’s defense did its part to keep the no-hitter alive. Caminero made a terrific backhanded grab near the foul line and threw out Nick Loftin in the first inning. Caminero had another nice backhanded play on Tyler Tolbert in the third. Jonathan Aranda also made a diving catch of a line drive in the sixth.

The only other nine-inning no-hitter in Tampa Bay history was July 26, 2010, when Matt Garza blanked the Tigers at Tropicana Field. Five Rays pitchers did not give up a hit in a seven-inning win in the second game of a doubleheader against Cleveland on July 7, 2021, but MLB did not classify that as a no-hitter.

While the pitchers were dealing, Rays hitters were having a special day of their own. Caminero tied the franchise record with his three home runs, and Victor Mesa Jr. added a three-run shot of his own. Caminero’s third homer was a majestic blast off a catwalk in the eighth when the Royals put Tolbert in as a pitcher.

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