No one wants to be no-hit. It's humiliating. And Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon did his damnedest to avoid the no-hitter. It was a valiant, eventually futile effort. But, man, did he try.
Dee Gordon: The No-Hitter’s Natural Enemy
In the top of the fourth inning, Gordon tried to bunt for a base hit. This is early enough in the game to avoid the unwritten-rules snafu, so it was perfectly fine in baseball etiquette. Plus, the unwritten rules go on and on and on. Here’s one that you didn’t even know existed:
You can’t bunt for a hit to break up a no-hitter after the sixth inning. Unless, like, Kevin Millwood is pitching. Because he isn’t pitching a no-hitter. Come on. Not happening. I mean, unless he hurts his groin and comes out for a reliever. And what are the odds on that? Like, a billion-to-one.
But it was the fourth, and it was fine to bunt. And Kyle Seager made a heckuva play:
The real drama, though, came in the ninth inning, when Gordon led off against reliever Tom Wilhelmsen. Brendan Ryan had just come into the game as a defensive replacement, and it's a baseball truism that the ball always finds the defensive replacements. With a no-hitter intact, of course Ryan has to field a tough chance right away.
Looks close. How close?
Yeeeeeeesh. Looks safe. Tie goes to the runner. Wouldn’t bet a finger on it, though. About the closest play you can imagine.
The Dodgers were no-hit, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort on Dee Gordon's part. Dude tried. And he wasn't excited with the results.
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