Pittsburgh, PA – There was a loud gasp at PNC Park when Carlos Beltran belted a ball earmarked for the right-center field gap with two outs in the seventh inning.
Just like that, A.J. Burnett's push for the second no-hitter of his career was dashed.
Instead, he settled for another close call.
Burnett tossed seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the finale of a rain- shortened, two-game set.
Burnett's only other blemish was a hit batsman. He struck out eight.
Burnett (1-2), who tallied his 2,000th career strikeout, fired his first no- hitter nearly 12 years ago. While with the Florida Marlins, he recorded a wild nine-walk no-no against the San Diego Padres on May 12, 2001.
The 36-year-old took a no-hitter into the eight inning against the Chicago Cubs last season before pinch-hitter Adrian Cardenas lined a two-out single to right.
There have been six no-hitters in Pirates history, the last a combined 10- inning no-no against the Houston Astros in 1997.
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