June 11, 2011|By Jeff Zrebiec, The Baltimore Sun
With the Orioles leading 5-0, much of the drama shifted to whether Arrieta could pull off a significantly rarer feat. Through five innings, Arrieta had allowed just two walks while facing the minimum 15 batters. Johnny Damon led off the game with a walk but was thrown out attempting to steal by Matt Wieters. Ben Zobrist then drew a one-out walk in the fourth, but Evan Longoria followed by bouncing into an inning-ending double play.
However, Sam Fuld finally got the Rays' first hit to start the sixth, lining a double into the left center-field gap. Arrieta received a nice ovation from the crowd after the no-hitter was broken up.
“To be honest with you, I think about it pretty much all game,” Arrieta said. “You know you haven't given up a hit and it is something that, I've had a few outings like that, where you don't give up a hit until the fifth or sixth and you sit there and think, ‘What if? What if tonight is the night?' But you don't really let that get to you. It's just a thought in your mind, but you just continue to go out there and make quality pitches, and you never know what can happen.”
Arrieta was also quick to deflect credit to Markakis on this night.
“I'm real happy for Nick to get that hit,” Arrieta said. “I feel like he's been one hit away like that. That's just great for him. He's a guy that I always want at the plate with guys on base, no matter what the situation is. Regardless of his struggles, he's a very, very good hitter. And tonight he showed it.”
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An earlier version of this article gave the wrong inning in which Nick Markakis hit a grand slam. It was the second inning. The Sun regrets the error.
