Dodgers Blue Heaven: Catching Up on Kershaw's No-No

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Catching Up on Kershaw's No-No

I can't believe I missed Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter last night... dammit! I was just so tired. So, I had a good dinner and fell fast asleep. Then, I woke up early, did my normal things and headed to the office. It was only after getting to work did I realized that I might have missed something... And, oh boy, did I ever!

So, if you were anything like me last night you are only just catching up with what may likely be one of the more memorable ballgames in Dodger history. Last Night, Clayton Kershaw threw his very first no-hitter, and by all accounts he was as masterful as you can be.

Overall, he threw only 107 pitches - 79 for strikes. Kershaw struck out 15 batters, walked nobody and faced one batter over the minimum. If not for a Hanley Ramirez's throwing error in the 7th inning, Clayton likely would have had a perfect game.

To quickly catch you up if you missed the game like me, check out the video below of every Kershaw out from last night:

Video Link:

And, here a a bunch of links I enjoyed reading to help assuage and feeling of loss I might have felt for missing last nights game.

Here are bunch of great photos from Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo from last night.
Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times, " Clayton Kershaw joins Dodgers' greats with no-hitter vs. Rockies."
Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Kerfection: Dodgers no-no next-best thing to perfect."

"I started tearing up in the ninth. I just got emotional out there," said (AJ) Ellis, who said he kept his mask on during the celebration since stepping on Drew Butera's mask during the mob after Beckett's no-no landed him on the disabled list. "I told him it's not fair to have a devastating slider and a devastating curve the same night. But when he does, this is possible. The guys in that lineup give him fits. The way he made them look is a testament to how good he was. I'm just thankful and blessed to be on the receiving end of the best pitcher in baseball."

Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "The most dominant pitching performance in Dodger history?"

Kershaw did break one record of some obscurity but significance nevertheless. His Game Score of 102 was the highest in Dodger history, higher even than Koufax during his 14-strikeout perfect game, and a concise testimony to his dominance. Only Kerry Wood, in his 20-strikeout game, had a higher Game Score.

Via Dodger Insider, "Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter, Twitter-style."
Via ESPN Stats & Information, "Top 10 facts on Kershaw's no-hitter."
Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "How Hanley Ramirez spoiled perfection."

“Under normal circumstances, that’s pretty close to a hit,” Kershaw said. “Dickerson’s pretty fast and Hanley did all he could. He made a good play and just the throw was a little wide. Nothing he could do with that. It was a tough play.”

M. Brown at Left Field Pavilion makes a great graphic.
Via Bryan Grosnick at Beyond the Boxscore, "Clayton Kershaw throws the greatest modern no-hitter."

In my opinion, this was the Ozymandias of no-hitters.

Ozymandias was the third-to-last episode of Breaking Bad*, which (thanks to it's dominance, excellence, and depth) was basically the Clayton Kershaw of television shows. Truthfully, it's the Clayton Kershaw of television shows only if you're not a Dodgers fan, because it can be pretty harrowing at times. Anyways, it features a compelling performance by a dynamic lead, lots of action, drama, and sometimes things move in directions you don't expect. It was -- at times -- horrifying. (But in a good way, right?)

Via Michael Lananna at MLB.com, "Ellis shares historic moment with best pal Kershaw."

"Nothing's going to change -- that's what's great about him," Ellis said. "He's a two-time -- should be three-time -- Cy Young Award winner. He's the highest-paid pitcher in all of baseball right now, but it doesn't change who he is as a person, and that's what's great about him. He has one goal -- to compete, win and win championships."

Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter, by the numbers."
Via Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Digest, "Clayton Kershaw threw a perfe … err … no-hitter, and you want GIFS."
Lastly, this tweet from LA Times Summer Sports Intern Everett Cook: