NEWSLETTER
There are not many more sought after individual accomplishments in sports than the no-hitter in baseball. Completing one isn’t just about being on your game for a night or a moment – that’s fairly common – it’s about completely and utterly dominating your opposition for roughly three straight hours.
It just isn’t easy.
So then, you can imagine how Matt Moore must have felt when he was just two strikes away from completing his first career no-hitter last night against the Dodgers. Nervous? Excited? Anxious? Dreaming about a Champagne Shower? Probably some combination of all four. After all, this was something he had probably dreamt about since little league.
Well if that is indeed the case, I can’t imagine how he felt when Corey Seager blooped a single into right field with two outs and a strike in the bottom of the ninth inning:
That’s devastating. Not only was he just two strikes away from history, he lost it on a cheap one, a non-hit. He wasn’t squared up, Seager didn’t earn that, it just ended, slowly and painfully.
And the worst part about losing a no-hitter that late in the evening is that your night actually feels much, much worse than it should. Think about it. Moore’s final line was 8.2 IP/0ER/1H/3BB/7K – had that single come in the third or fourth inning, he’d be celebrating his fine performance in the dugout. Now, I’m guessing he’ll be wondering “What if?” for (at least) the rest of the night (while humming “Hello, Darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.”) Just painful.
He was so close, but you know what they say:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOPR70YUtco
