January 1, CRUSHING Ninth-Inning Heartbreak Stuns Oakland Pitcher

Wyatt’s Take

• Oakland pitcher J.T. Ginn was one out away from a perfect no-hitter before losing everything in the final inning.
• Angels broke up the no-no with a single, then hit a walk-off home run to win 2-1 in stunning fashion.
• Ginn dominated all night with 10 strikeouts and 105 pitches — only to walk off the field with a heartbreaking loss.

Oakland Athletics pitcher J.T. Ginn was on the brink of baseball history Monday night. He took a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels, looking to become the first pitcher to throw a solo no-hitter since Blake Snell did it for the San Francisco Giants back in August 2024.

Then everything collapsed in an instant.

The Angels broke up the no-no when Adam Frazier singled. Moments later, Zach Neto stepped to the plate and crushed a walk-off home run, giving the Angels a stunning 2-1 victory and shattering Ginn’s shot at glory.

“Obviously a tough game,” Ginn said after the game. “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 a pitch over the shortstop while facing an 0-2 count. Neto was up 2-0 in the count when he launched the game-winner into the stands.

“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 threw a career-high 105 pitches and struck out 10 batters. He became the sixth major leaguer since 1974 to allow no hits or runs through eight innings and still take the loss. Rich Hill was the last to suffer this fate, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers back in August 2017.

“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.”

The A’s scored their only run in the top of the ninth when Lawrence Butler drove in Zack Gelof. Oakland recorded seven hits off Angels pitching, but it wasn’t enough.

Los Angeles hasn’t been no-hit since September 11, 1999.

Wyatt Matters

This is what real competition looks like — no excuses, no shortcuts, just hard work that sometimes doesn’t pay off the way you hope. Ginn gave it everything he had, pitched his heart out, and came up short. That’s baseball. That’s life. You dust yourself off and get back out there tomorrow. America was built by folks who kept swinging when the game looked lost.