Garza's son isn't that impressed by no-hitter

Matt Garza had just been rocked by the Marlins in Miami earlier this season when his 8-year-old son, Matt, used two words to sum up the outing - seven runs in 11/3 innings.

"You stink," young Matt told his dad, though he didn't use the word "stink."

So, after tossing his first career no-hitter Monday, big Matt called little Matt, who watched the game from the Garzas' home in California, and asked, "Nine innings, no hits, what do you think now?"

"You're still not an All-Star," young Matt said.

Ouch.

"He's a chip off the old block," Garza said Tuesday afternoon.

That might have been the only flack Garza caught after pitching the first no-hitter in Rays history during the 5-0 victory against the Tigers.

A neighbor left balloons on his mailbox. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig sent a congratulatory letter that should arrive at Tropicana Field today. The Baseball Hall of Fame asked for the cap he wore during the game.

Manager Joe Maddon gave Garza every lineup card used in the game. When he joined the celebration near the mound, right fielder Ben Zobrist gave Garza the ball Zobrist caught for the final out.

"He dropped it," Zobrist said.

Everyone Garza knows has called.

"I think my phone's still buzzing," he said. "I had to turn it off (Monday night). I think my iPhone is overwhelmed."

Garza celebrated his historic night with some teammates, then went home. He watched two of his favorite shows: "That '70s Show" and "The George Lopez Show."

Then it hit him.

Garza said he sat back on his couch and said, "I threw a no-hitter."

"I had a blast with it," he added.

Still, as he did immediately after his win, Garza deflected the attention to his teammates Tuesday.

"That was a team effort," he said. "You can't win a game with one guy. You can have a hero, but I was just part of the supporting cast. The hero was (Matt) Joyce. We'd still be playing at midnight without the blast."

Joyce's sixth-inning grand slam broke up Max Scherzer's no-hitter and gave Garza a 4-0 lead.

Garza said he looked back on his full-count, second-inning walk to Brennan Boesch and wondered, "What if?" Boesch was erased when Ryan Raburn grounded into a double play started by Evan Longoria, and Garza pitched to the minimum 27 batters.

"Maybe if I didn't walk that guy Raburn sneaks that pitch past Longo," Garza said. "Things happen for a reason."

Asked what he'll take from his big night, Garza said, "Just the memory. My glove, maybe. That's about it."