BATAVIA, NY -- A few inches made all the differences in Andrew Moss' bid for history Wednesday.
Moss set down the first 21 batters as short-season Batavia came within two outs of a perfect game in a 3-0 shutout of Mahoning Valley.
"I was spotting my sinker really good, my curve and slider were pretty good and they had a lot of lefties so that helped with my sinker," Moss said. "It's a pitch that I can control and it goes away from left-handed hitters and I can try for the outside corner. I feel more comfortable throwing it against a lefty than a righty."
Reliever Jose Rada set down the Scrappers in order in the eighth, but surrendered a single to Moises Montero that just glanced off the glove of shortstop Yunier Castillo with one out in the ninth. He rebounded to strike out Brian Heere and got Jordan Casas to fly out to left field to end the game.
Moss, who led the Appalachian League in 2009 with a 1.32 ERA, exited after 90 pitches, 10 beyond his usual pitch count. He sought to be a part of the first New York-Penn League no-hitter since Guillermo Moscoso of Oneonta shut down Batavia on July 15, 2007. The Missouri native ended his night by striking out the side in the seventh.
"I just had a burst of adrenaline I guess," Moss said. "I was really feeling it. Me and my catcher (Luis De La Cruz) were really on the same page. The way he calls a game and the way I'm thinking on the mound, I rarely have to shake him off at all."
De La Cruz gave his pitcher all the support he would need, delivering a second-inning RBI double and smacking a solo homer in the fifth. Castillo added a sacrifice fly, while Joseph Bergman had two singles to extend his hitting streak to nine games.