RHP Matt Garza went for a few drinks with teammates to celebrate after Monday's no-hitter, and got a slew of phone messages, but he said it wasn't until he got home and relaxed with the TV on that it hit him what he had accomplished. "Out of nowhere,'' he said, "I just went, "I threw a no-hitter.' I was pumped, and just had a big sigh of relief.''

Well that, and the phone call to speak with his wife (who was so upset about missing the game she was crying) and kids, who were back in California, especially his 8-year-old son Matthew.

"My son is the funniest kid ever,'' Garza said. "When I threw against the Marlins, he told me, "Man, dad, you suck - one inning, seven runs. I could do that.' ... I call him last night and I said, "Matthew, did you watch the game?" He's like yea. I said, "Nine innings, no hits. Who sucks now?" And he goes, "You're still not an All-Star."

"He's a chip off the old block. It was good though. He's a competitor, and that's the way I like it. He keeps you grounded. He's like, you're not the best yet. So don't start floating away yet. I think that was the coolest thing, because for me it's him getting into baseball and watching it.''

Garza got the game ball - courtesy of RF Ben Zobrist, who caught the final out - and the lineup card from manager Joe Maddon, all being put into a display case by home clubhouse/equipment manager Chris Westmoreland. The Hall of Fame has asked for his cap and a ball from the game. And commissioner Bud Selig has sent a letter of congratulations that will be presented on Wednesday.

Garza, who kept insisting grand slam-hitting Matt Joyce was the true hero of the night, said he doesn't plan to keep anything else from the historic night: "Just the memory.''

Garza said he hadn't yet been contacted to make any celebrity appearances - like on David Letterman's show - but was more focused on preparing for Saturday's start against the Yankees.

He eventually had to turn off his iPhone on Monday night because of the volume of messages: "I think my phone is still buzzing. I had to turn it off last night, the iPhone was overwhelmed. Turn off and reboot it, and it was still buzzing. A lot of people back home were real proud, a lot of people watched every pitch. And they were just as excited as I was.'' 

Garza's wife and three kids went home to northern California for the All-Star break and long post-break trip, though Serina was planning to return to Tampa Bay on Tuesday while the kids were to go camping with Garza's parents. "(Serina) was upset, she said don't talk about it 'til she gets here today,'' Garza said. "She was crying last night, she was pissed that she wasn't here.  I was a little upset too that she wasn't here, but hopefully I can do it again.''

 Garza said when he got home last night some neighbors had taped balloons to his front door.