Kennedy nearly perfect

RAYS 2, TIGERS 0: A leadoff single is all that separates Joe Kennedy from Tampa Bay's first no-hitter. The left-hander happily settles for the first one-hitter.

DETROIT - Devil Rays starting pitcher Joe Kennedy glided into the clubhouse two hours before Friday night's game against the Tigers and acted as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Dressed in black leather jacket, a T-shirt, jeans and nifty-looking black shoes, Kennedy looked ready for a night on the town.

He ended up doing something way cooler: He pitched what might have been the best game in Rays history.

Kennedy pitched the first complete-game one-hitter in team history in a 2-0 win before 14,571 at Comerica Park.

"The kid was filthy," catcher Toby Hall said in the nicest possible way.

Kennedy was filthy, and utterly dominant.

He gave up a leadoff single to Andres Torres, then didn't allow another hit the rest of the game. In fact, he was nearly perfect after the first batter. He allowed a walk, and two other runners reached on errors.

And that was it.

No Tigers even reached second. No more than one runner reached base in any inning. At one point, he set down 11 in a row, then he put down the final eight, the last on a 92 mph fastball for a strikeout.

"I felt good," Kennedy said. "I was a little cold. I was trying to get loose throughout the whole game."

Despite a game-time temperature of 52 degrees, Kennedy used the conditions of the spacious Comerica Park to mow down the Tigers. He kept pumping fastball after fastball and let the wide open spaces do the rest. Throwing only two changeups all game, Kennedy struck out six, and 11 of his outs came on fly balls or popups.

Who cares that it came against a team that was shut out for the seventh time this season and now has a league-worst record of 3-24 with a batting average of .184? Kennedy didn't, pointing out the Tigers still are a major-league team with major-league players.

"That was by far the best pitching performance of the year," Rays manager Lou Piniella said. "A really nice effort."

And a much-needed one. With a bullpen nearly on empty after a 13-inning game Thursday and more than seven innings of work Wednesday, the Rays desperately needed a good starting performance.

"Talking before the ballgame, we said we needed seven or eight innings," Piniella said. "And I said, "Why not a complete game?' And that's exactly what we got."

The Rays didn't even warm anybody up in the bullpen.

"I just wanted to go out there and pitch as many innings as I could," Kennedy said. "(In the ninth) you just want to finish it yourself. The adrenaline just starts pumping."

Kennedy's effort was reminiscent of a 1-0 victory at Seattle nearly one year ago.

His only hurdle Friday was that Tigers starter Gary Knotts was nearly as good. Knotts allowed one run and five hits in 72/3 innings. The Rays scored the winning run in the eighth when pinch-hitter Carl Crawford walked, moved to second on a groundout and scored on Marlon Anderson's single to right.

The Rays tacked on an insurance run in the ninth when Hall hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Travis Lee, who started the inning with a double.

The rest of the night belonged to Kennedy, who pitched the 10th shutout in Rays history and the first since June 28, 2002.

"He was awesome," Hall said. "He was just awesome."