Alex Cobb threw eight shutout innings, but the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen could not hold another lead late, though they were able to rally and defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 in 10 inning Tuesday at PNC Park.
Cobb did not allow a hit in the game until the seventh, when Josh Harrison, who had walked in the fourth to give Pittsburgh its only base runner of the game to that point, singled to break up the no-hitter bid. Andrew McCutchen followed with a base hit of his own, but Cobb wiggled off the hook with no runs scored by getting Josh Bell to ground into a double play, and David Freese to ground out to escape the inning.
Pittsburgh scored twice off Alex Colome, the third straight outing in which he's allowed two or more runs, but Tampa Bay broke the tie in the top of the tenth, as Steven Souza Jr. led off with a single and scored when Wilson Ramos' grounder was misplayed by Freese, allowing Souza to score all the way from first base. Ramos would score later in the inning to give the Rays another two-run lead, and earn Colome (2-3) the win.
Tommy Hunter pitched a perfect bottom of the tenth to earn his first save as a member of the Rays.
The win gets Tampa Bay back to three games over .500 at 41-38.
Blake Snell (0-4, 4.71 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A to start Wednesday's middle game, taking on Ivan Nova (7-5, 3.06 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05, with coverage on WDAE starting at 6:30 with The Inside Pitch presented by Sykes Lakeland.