It's hard to say anybody "deserves" anything they don't get in sports, when everything boils down to measurable results. It's a shame when a great player goes an entire career without winning a championship, but if he was never a part of a team good enough to win one, well, a shame is all it is. Arguments to the contrary are based solely on emotion. That said, if any team in baseball "deserved" to have one of their pitchers throw a no-hitter, it was the Tampa Bay Rays.
Not because it was the first in the franchise's history. The Mets and Padres have both been around nearly four times as long as the Rays and have never had one, in spite of having the likes of Tom Seaver, Randy Jones Pedro Martinez, Kevin Brown and, oh yeah, a guy named Nolan Ryan pitching for them. No, the Rays argument for "deserving" a no hitter, is that being the frequent victim of them stinks, an argument based solely on emotion.
While Matt Garza's near-perfect (one walk, erased on a double play) masterpiece - AT HOME, no less! - doesn't erase those times we've been on the short end, at least we can breathe easier, not feel envious of other teams and do more than look back sadly at the times Tony Saunders and Dewon Brazelton came within 1.2 innings of getting the job done.
Now, if Carl Crawford could just hit for the cycle during a win on Friday night...