McGee loses no-hit bid in 7th inning of 1st MLB start

TORONTO (AP) — Seattle Mariners pitcher Easton McGee took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his first major league start Saturday before Matt Chapman doubled off the center-field wall for the Toronto Blue Jays with two outs.

McGee was removed after Chapman’s hit, and reliever Matt Brash struck out Daulton Varsho to end the inning. The game was scoreless heading to the eighth.

McGee retired his first 12 batters before walking Chapman to begin the fifth. The 6-foot-6 right-hander then set down the next eight Blue Jays hitters. He threw only 64 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, striking out two.

It was the second big league outing for McGee, who made one relief appearance for Tampa Bay late last season. He was called up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day to start in place of struggling Chris Flexen, who was moved to the bullpen.

There have been six no-hitters in Mariners history and the most recent one came in Toronto, when Canadian-born lefty James Paxton threw one on May 8, 2018.

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