ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jarred Cosart took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his major league debut, and the Houston Astros beat AL Cy Young Award winner David Price 2-1 on Friday night to end the Tampa Bay Rays' season-best, eight-game winning streak.
Cosart (1-0) limited the Rays, who have won 10 of 12 during a 14-game stretch against the American League's three worst teams, to a pair of walks before All-Star Ben Zobrist singled with one out in the seventh. Evan Longoria grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The 23-year-old right-hander also yielded a single to James Loney in the eighth and was removed after walking pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson leading off the ninth. The rookie threw 96 pitches — 54 for strikes.
Carlos Corporan's two-run, first-inning single provided all the offensive support Cosart needed to beat Price (3-5), who allowed eight hits and struck out three.
Four of the five Rays who reached base against Cosart were erased by double plays. Jose Veras gave up an unearned run on Luke Scott's two-out RBI single in the ninth, but struck out Evan Longoria to notch his 18th save.
It was the second straight day that a rookie right-hander made his big league debut against a reigning Cy Young winner. Cleveland's Danny Salazar took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the Indians' 4-2 victory over R.A. Dickey and the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
Cosart was equally impressive after being promoted earlier Friday from Triple A Oklahoma City, where he went 7-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 18 appearances, including 17 starts.
He began the night by retiring nine in a row before walking Desmond Jennings to lead off the fourth. Wil Myers drew a one-out walk in the fifth, but was erased when Matt Joyce grounded into an inning-ending double play.
