J.T. Ginn loses no-hit bid in ninth inning and then allows walk-off homer in gutting As collapse

ANAHEIM, Calif.— Athletics starter J.T.

Ginn took a no-hitter and a one-run lead into the ninth inning Monday night.Six pitches later, he walked off the mound with a heartbreaking loss.Adam Frazier lined a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth and Zach Neto followed with a two-run homer that gave the Los Angeles Angels a 2-1 victory, snapping a six-game skid while stunning Ginn and the A’s.“Obviously, a tough game,” Ginn said.“Just keep your head up and keep moving forward.

It’s just the nature of the game that we play.I attack the zone and I live with that.”Frazier lined an 0-2 pitch over shortstop for a clean single, giving Los Angeles just its third baserunner.

Neto then drove a 2-0 sinker to center field for his eighth home run of the season.“Just a crazy game to play,” Ginn said.“I fell behind 2-0, threw a good sinker, and he was waiting on it and put a good swing on it.

So, tip your cap to him.”Ginn (2-2) was trying for the first no-hitter in the majors since Shota Imanaga combined with two Chicago Cubs relievers for a 12-0 win over Pittsburgh on Sept.4, 2024.

The previous pitcher to throw a complete-game no-hitter was Blake Snell for the San Francisco Giants against Cincinnati on Aug.2, 2024.Ginn threw a career-high 105 pitches, 64 for strikes.

He struck out 10, walked one and hit Neto with a pitch in the sixth.The right-hander from Mississippi, who turns 27 on Wednesday, struck out the side in the seventh and finished the inning with his 10th strikeout — setting a career high.“J.T.dominated all night.

For him to walk off the mound with a loss there, it hurts, obviously,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said.“He pitched probably the best game he’s pitched in his big league career, and to have an opportunity to get a no-hitter, and two hits later you walk off with a loss, it’s tough.

I had full confidence in him going out there in that inning at 100 pitches and trying to get it done.It just didn’t work out.”Pinc...