Twins' Odorizzi falls short of history in rare no-hit bid vs. Yankees

Few pitchers have ever no-hit the mighty New York Yankees, but Minnesota Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi came close to pulling it off on Wednesday.

Through 7 1/3 innings and 119 pitches at Target Field, the Yankees couldn't touch Odorizzi. However, the no-no came undone on pitch No. 120, as Greg Bird lined an RBI double into the left-center-field gap to end Odorizzi's no-hit bid, shutout, and evening.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Trevor Hildenberger relieved Odorizzi and went on to close the Twins' 3-1 victory.

Twins manager Paul Molitor let Odorizzi, who's never thrown a complete game in the majors, start the eighth despite a very high pitch count. After setting Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez down on strikes, he walked Luke Voit on five pitches before allowing Bird's hit.

Odorizzi's final line was still stellar, as he struck out five and walked only three while allowing the lone run and hit to earn his sixth win of the season.

What made Odorizzi's bid for history all the more impressive was that it came against the Yankees, a team that rarely falls victim to no-hitters. Although six Houston Astros pitchers combined to no-hit the Yankees back in 2003, just six individual pitchers have ever thrown a complete-game no-no against the storied franchise since it was founded in 1903.

Hoyt Wilhelm, the Hall of Fame knuckleball artist, was the most recent pitcher to no-hit the Yankees by himself ... back in 1958.

Individuals who've no-hit the Yankees

Minnesota, meanwhile, has not recorded a no-hitter since Francisco Liriano threw one in 2011.