Angels' starting pitcher Jered Weaver, who came into the game 7-7, joined forces with Jose Arredondo and threw eight innings of no-hit ball against Chad Billingsley—6-7 prior to the game—and the Dodgers.
The Dodgers' pitching staff: Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, and Takashi Saito, allowed five hits in nine innings Saturday night.
Both teams gave up two errors.
However, the Dodgers were able to capitalize on a crucial error made by Weaver in the fifth inning. On a slow roller between the mound and first base, Weaver was unable to get a hold on the ball before Matt Kemp reached first.
Kemp then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. He eventually made it home on a sacrifice fly from rookie Blake DeWitt.
This was only the fifth game in baseball history to have an outcome where the losing team succeeded in not giving up a single hit.
The first was in 1964 with losers the Colt .45’s—now known as the Astros—, followed by the Orioles in ’67, the Yankees in ’90, and the Red Sox in ’92.
The atmosphere at Dodgers’ Stadium was fantastic. Everyone knew what a strange game was taking place, as was evident when the seventh and eight innings rolled around and, against typical Dodger Stadium fashion, no one was leaving.
As one of 55,784 fans in attendance in Los Angeles, I can attest to the excitement felt by all Dodgers fans Saturday night.
The pot was only sweetened by the fact that this momentous game came at the expense of our cross-town rivals in red.
Saito did give us a scare in the ninth. He had two outs and two strikes on Howie Kendrick. He then gave up a double to left field, and walked the next batter, Mike Napoli.
However, he was able to complete his twelfth save of the year when he struck out the next batter, pinch-hitter Reggie Willits.
The game leaves the freeway series at 2-0 Dodgers, with a third game on Sunday afternoon. The Dodgers have held the Angels to 18 run-less innings.
4 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
John Sutter about 1 year ago
That's awesome that you were there for the game, hopefully this motivates something in the Dodgers so they start playing better!
Edit Comment Cancel
Gustavo Destro about 1 year ago
That's amazing. How you captured the moment that made the game so special. Great timing.
Edit Comment Cancel
Derek Coffelt about 1 year ago
Good article however, technically you can't call this game a no-hitter since the Angels didn't pitch 9 innings.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ken Armer about 1 year ago
Amazing Game!
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.