NEW YORK (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi took a perfect game into the seventh inning, C.J. Cron hit an early three-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays routed the New York Mets 9-0 on Sunday.
Eovaldi retired his first 18 batters before Brandon Nimmo lined a clean single to right field leading off the seventh. Nimmo was quickly erased on a double play, and Eovaldi faced the minimum through seven innings.
The right-hander, who returned this season from his second Tommy John surgery, struck out nine. Andrew Kittredge pitched the final two innings for the Rays, giving up a single in the ninth before finishing the two-hitter.