One Moore Out!

On Thursday night (8/25/16), as I was dozing off in my bed I was alerted (I love notifications!)  that Matt Moore was entering the 8th inning against the Dodgers and was holding on to a no-hitter.  Since I live in NYC and the game was being played on the West Coast, I couldn’t convince myself to get out of bed at that moment, but I watched the game in the darkness on my phone.  Moore looked sharp and when Denard Span broke into a dead sprint and made a diving catch to save a hit for the first out in the ninth inning, I quickly leapt out of bed and turned the TV on in the living room.  

I’ve never seen a no-hitter in person, and I can only recall watching highlights of successful no-hitters over the years, so I was not going to miss my chance to watch this gem unfold in real time in front of my eyes (even if I was 3,000 miles away).  As Moore’s pitch count quickly climbed well over the 100 pitch threshold, I watched and listened as Vin Scully described the scene.  Bruce Bochy, the Giants Manager, felt the pressure!  His team is in playoff contention, he just traded to acquire Matt Moore to add pitching depth through the playoffs, and he was currently letting him pitch well beyond fatigue.  Although, as ball after ball was fouled back and out of play in that final inning, it was pretty evident that Matt Moore was going to go the distance.

With one out left in the ninth, Corey Seager (NL Rookie of the Year favorite) walked slowly to the plate.  The excitement was palpable and everyone in the ballpark was on their feet.  Corey swung at a high fastball with one of the most ferocious swings I’ve ever seen and whiffed.  That swing, although bringing Moore another strike closer to his goal, proved that Seager was not going down in history without a fight.  With two outs and a 1-1 count, Seager got jammed inside with a 94 mph fastball from Moore, but fought it out toward right field.  See for yourself:

It was heartbreaking!  Denard Span stood in CF with his hands on his head exasperated; Moore walked aimlessly around the mound as he waited for the ball to be thrown back in; Bochy made his predictable walk out to the mound to relieve Moore of his duties.  In the end, Moore left with a standing ovation from Dodger and Giant fans alike.  

There is no silver lining when a no-hitter gets broken up in this way.  However, I’d like to quickly offer my sympathy and console Moore with a few clichés.

You’re not the only one, Matt!

According to Stew Thornley of Milkees Press*, since 1961 there have been 38 no-hitters broken up with 2 outs in the ninth inning, 13 of which were actually on the way to becoming perfect games.  

Get ‘em next time champ!

In that same time span, there were 157 completed no-hitters and 148 no-hitters that were broken up in the ninth inning, which means that only 51.2% of no-hitters taken into the ninth inning have landed in the history books.  So according to history, the next time Matt takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning the math is on his side.

At least you’re not this guy!

Matt Moore should cross his fingers and knock on wood for the rest of his life so that he doesn’t become Dave Stieb.  Watch the video below to understand why.

In case it wasn’t obvious from the clip above, Dave Stieb worked two consecutive no-hitters (Sept 24th/Sept 30th in 1988) into the ninth inning and within one strike of his elusive goal only to watch it slip through his fingers.  He also took a no-hitter into the ninth inning four years earlier in 1985. In 1989, one season after his two consecutive almost no-hitters, he even took a perfect game into the ninth inning only to fall short of that as well.

There’s always a silver lining!

Even if Moore does pull a “Stieb”, he can take solace in the fact that Stieb did eventually get his no-hitter in 1990.  He also managed to set career records for the Blue Jays while going to 7 All Star games and winning a World Series ring.

Take a day off!

Last thing I want Matt to consider is taking a day off!  Go on vacation!  If/When you do, you should probably go away the weekend of Sept 24th (which just happens to be my Birthday).  Why? Well, of all the 38 no-hitters broken up with 2 outs in the ninth inning, only 5 were recorded on the same calendar day - 2 were broken up on June 7th (in 68’ and 07’) and 3 were broken up on September 24th (in 75’, 88’, 13’).  Oh and guess who was on the mound on September 24, 1988, none other than Dave Stieb.

Matt, just remember what Oscar Wilde said, “The Heart was made to be broken.” Thankfully, according to history, no-hitters are only meant to be broken up in the ninth 50 percent of the time.  

*no-hitter stats attributed to Stew Thornley at Milkees Press (http://milkeespress.com/lostninth.html)