Reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw pitched his first-ever no-hitter on June 18, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. It was the second no-hitter a Dodger pitcher threw this season.
Kershaw faced 28 batters Wednesday night, one more than the minimum. The pitcher’s bid for a perfect game ended in the top half of the seventh inning, when Hanley Ramirez committed a throwing error attempting to get Corey Dickerson out at first base.
En route to his no-hitter, Kershaw (7-2) struck out a career high 15 strikeouts; he only threw 107 pitches.
With the win, the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep against the Rockies and improved to 40-34 overall on the season.
Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter earlier this season in a game at Philadelphia; it was the first no-hitter thrown by a Dodger since Hideo Nomo achieved the feat in 1996. Coincidentally, that 1996 game was also against the Colorado Rockies.
Kershaw’s no-hitter marks the first time in Los Angeles Dodgers history that two Dodger pitchers threw a no-hitter in the same season. The last time that happened in franchise history, it was in 1956 and the Dodgers were still playing in Brooklyn. Carl Erskine no-hit the New York Giants on May 12, 1956, while Sal Maglie threw a no-hitter Sept. 25, 1956, against the Philadelphia Phillies. Maglie’s no-hitter was the final one a pitcher ever pitched in a Brooklyn Dodgers jersey.
The three-month, two-week gap between the no-hitters thrown between Erskine and Maglie was the shortest interval ever between Dodger n0-hitters until June 18. Kershaw’s no-hitter was 24 days after Beckett achieved his “no-no” on May 25 at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Ramirez’s error was the difference between Kershaw achieving just the second perfect game in Dodgers history. The only perfect game ever thrown by a Dodgers pitcher was on Sept. 9, 1965, when Sandy Koufax retired all 27 batters he faced in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium.
A perfect game occurs when nobody from a given team ever reaches base. If a starting pitcher pitches for a full nine innings, he will face at least 27 batters. When that pitcher faces exactly 27 batters and none of them reach base via hit, walk, error, hit-by-pitch, catcher interference, passed ball, or otherwise during those nine innings and his own team has at least a 1-0 lead when the 27th out is recorded, he achieves a “perfect game.”
Even though this is his first no-hitter, Kershaw now has more no-no’s than the entire San Diego Padres franchise. The Padres are the only franchise in Major League Baseball to not record a single no-hitter in its entire history.
Some other no-hitter facts associated with Dodger pitchers:
– Walter Alston managed the most Dodgers game involving a no-hitter. The Dodgers had seven no-hitters during his tenure as manager.
– Clayton Kershaw, a left-hander, is the 12th pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history and 25th in franchise history to achieve a no-hitter. The first six no-hitters occurred before the franchise became known as the “Dodgers.”
– Kershaw’s no-hitter was the first one at Dodger Stadium since Ramon Martinez pitched a no-no against the Florida Marlins on July 14, 1995. It was the last no-hitter thrown with Tommy Lasorda as the team’s manager. Lasorda had witnessed four no-hitters in his career as manager.
– Sam Kimber threw the first no-hitter in franchise history on Oct. 4, 1884. The opponent was the Toledo Blue Stockings.
– While the interval between franchise no-hitters after Beckett’s no-no on May 25, the last no-hitter before Beckett was 18 years before, coincidentally the longest interval between franchise no-hitters.
– The Dodgers have no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies five times, the most against a team in one city. The Dodgers have also no-hit the Giants five times; the first three occurred when both teams were still playing in New York, the final two happening after both teams moved West.
– Sandy Koufax pitched four no-hitters in his career, most all-time amongst Dodger pitchers. Carl Erskine and Adonis Terry are the only two other pitchers with more than one; they both pitched two no-hitters apiece.
