ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carlos Carrasco was one strike away from throwing Cleveland’s first no-hitter in 34 years and already considering ways to celebrate.

A bit prematurely, it turned out.

Carlos Carrasco of the Indians had a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning before Tampa Bay’s Joey Butler hit a single. The Indians won, 8-1. The Associated Press

WHO'S HOT

n The Brewers have won six straight at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

who’s Not

n The San Diego Padres have been shut out 13 times this year.

Carrasco gave up an RBI single to Joey Butler over leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis’ glove in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

“It’s part of the game. I was excited. … I started thinking about what I needed to do, throw my glove in the air or something,” Carrasco said. “It was great. I almost made it.”

For the third straight night, the Indians took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Rays. This time, Carrasco retired the first 19 batters before walking Butler with one out in the seventh.

Carrasco walked Asdrubal Cabrera leading off the ninth, then struck pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer with a pitch. Grady Sizemore, also pinch hitting, grounded into a force play and Kevin Kiermaier struck out to bring Butler to the plate with a crowd of 11,394 at Tropicana Field on its feet.

Butler lined an 0-2 slider over the 5-foot-11 Kipnis, who jumped high in the air to make an attempt at catching the ball and fell flat to the ground as the line drive landed cleanly in the outfield.

“If Kip was 6-6, maybe (he’d have caught it),” Indians Manager Terry Francona said.

Carrasco smiled, clapped into his glove several times and pointed at the second baseman in appreciation of his effort.

Carrasco was lifted and Austin Adams got the final out. Carrasco received pats on the back and hugs in the dugout.

The last Indians pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Len Barker, who had a perfect game against Toronto on May 15, 1981.

ORIOLES 4, RANGERS 2: J.J. Hardy hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to back an effective pitching performance by Wei-Yin Chen and carry Baltimore past visiting Texas.

YANKEES 3, ANGELS 1: Nathan Eovaldi pitched scoreless, five-hit ball into the sixth inning, Garrett Jones homered and visiting New York snapped a three-game skid.

ASTROS 6, ROYALS 5: Jose Altuve had three hits and scored the tie-breaking run in the seventh inning as Houston completed a three-game sweep of visiting Kansas City.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BREWERS 9, PHILLIES 5: Adam Lind homered, Scooter Gennett doubled twice, tripled and drove in three runs, and visiting Milwaukee won its season-best fourth straight.

CUBS 2, METS 0: Starlin Castro legged out a run-scoring infield single in the 11th inning, and Chicago blanked New York for its second consecutive shutout at Citi Field.

MARLINS 6, GIANTS 5: Justin Bour hit a three-run homer with no outs in the ninth inning, and Miami overcame three errors and a flurry of double-play grounders to rally past visiting San Francisco.

INTERLEAGUE

MARINERS 7, PADRES 0: Taijuan Walker pitched one-hit ball for six innings, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz homered, and Seattle won at San Diego.

REDS 2, TWINS 1: Johnny Cueto made his best start yet since returning from a sore elbow, allowing four hits in eight innings, and Cincinnati beat visiting Minnesota.

ATHLETICS 4, ROCKIES 1: Billy Butler hit his first triple in nearly three years, Jesse Hahn pitched six solid innings and Oakland won at home.

PIRATES 9, TIGERS 3: Neil Walker homered twice, including a two-run shot in a five-run third, and Pittsburgh beat visiting Detroit.

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