Kershaw’s Historic Night

So, Dodger ace (and all-around good guy) Clayton Kershaw threw a no-hitter last night. (Against the Rockies, which means my MLB.com account had me blacked me out for most of the game. Because Wyoming. …though they relented when things got REALLY interesting.)

It was probably the best pitching performance I’ve ever seen (on TV). Clayton was almost impossibly dominant. Only one line-drive (which was a little hump-back liner to 3B, so not a serious threat), and one ball that was even close to a hit (a grounder just inside 3B, which wasn’t so much a “solidly-struck” ball as it was a “perfectly-placed” one.) He brushed away the game’s only “blemish” — a brutal throwing error from SS Hanley Ramirez — as though it were a mere gnat. Just kept rolling right along.

His curve-ball was, as they say, working. In fact, “Kershaw recorded a career-high 15 strikeouts, 14 of which came on breaking balls. The 14 strikeouts on breaking balls are the most in a single start since pitch types were begun to be tracked, in 2009.” Behold:

Can’t. Stop. Watching. (Lots more glorious GIFy-ness where that came from, including Yasiel Puig catching a fly ball with two hands. Which is simply not done.)

The final few innings were actually pretty easy, via ESPN’s “Sweet Spot”:

The final seven outs were pretty easy. Wilin Rosario struck out looking on a curveball, Drew Stubbs swung through a curve, Rutledge swung and missed on another curve (although he somehow fouled off an 0-2 slider), Kyle Parker hit a cue ball right to Adrian Gonzalez at first. In the ninth, the crowd roaring and the camera flashing to Kershaw’s wife, Ellen, between pitches, DJ LeMaheiu swung at a first-pitch fastball and grounded out, Gonzalez to Kershaw. Charlie Culberson also swung at the first pitch and hit a routine fly ball to right. Dickerson was the final batter. Kershaw blew a 94 mph fastball by him. Dickerson foul tipped a 95 mph heater. Somehow, Dickerson fouled off a curveball. You knew the curve was coming again. Dickerson had to have known it was coming. Over the past three seasons, Kershaw had recorded 169 strikeouts and walked one batter with the curve while allowing a .103 average. Here comes the Kershaw curveball, the best pitch in the game.

A.J. Ellis called for a slider. Beautiful.

Here’s the Scully-narrated, CliffNotes version of the night, just in case you’re interested. Myself, I’m planning to watch it in its glorious, 7.5 minute entirety every hour or so.

Delicious.

Oh, and while we’re thinking about Vinnie, he’s actually called 7% of all the no-hitters in MLB history. Which is great, because the man knows how to rise to the occasion. And perhaps more importantly, how to let the occasion speak for itself.

“Now if you don’t mind I am going to sit back and watch with you.” – Vin Scully. #icon

— MLB (@MLB) June 19, 2014

Also, he’s funny:

Vin Scully, in the elevator to Ellen Kershaw, Clayton’s wife: “So, Ellen. What’s new?”

— Everett Cook (@everettcook) June 19, 2014

Let’s close with a little Game Score analysis from ESPN’s “Stats and Info” blog:

A legitimate case could be made for Kershaw’s pitching performance on Wednesday as the best individual pitching performance all-time. Kershaw’s Game Score was 102. Over the past 100 years, that’s the second-highest Game Score in a nine-inning game. Only Kerry Wood’s 20 strikeout game in 1998 was higher (105), but Wood allowed a hit in that game.

Furthermore, Elias research confirms that Kershaw is the first player ever in the history of MLB with 15 strikeouts without allowing either a hit or walk.

Oh, one last thing. He’s 26. Turned 26 in March. So we’re still a long ways from done. This is historic stuff, people. Let’s just sit back and watch.

Attribution(s): Photos courtesy of Getty Images, which allows the use of certain images “as long as the photo is not used for commercial purposes (meaning in an advertisement or in any way intended to sell a product, raise money, or promote or endorse something);” “Celebratory Non-LA City Shot” provided by Shutterstock.