Pirates keep Scherzer no-hitter in perspective
WASHINGTON — On the morning after, it was business as usual for the Pirates.
Sunday, no one in the clubhouse wanted to dwell on the previous game, when the Pirates were no-hit by Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer. If Scherzer had not plunked Jose Tabata with two outs in the ninth, he would've notched the 24th perfect game in MLB history.
“It's no different than the morning after any other game for me,” manager Clint Hurdle said during his pregame news conference. “I've moved on. There's no hangover here. Guys are ready to go and looking forward to playing.”
The closest Scherzer came to giving up a hit was Jordy Mercer's deep fly ball in the third inning. Left fielder Michael Taylor caught it at the top of the wall, robbing Mercer of a home run.
“When I hit it, I got enough of it (for a homer),” Mercer said. “But there's always one or two significant plays a team makes when a guy pitches a no-hitter and my fly ball ended up being one of them.”
After Mercer's flyout, Scherzer struck out six of the next 10 batters. Everyone knew what was up.
“It was pretty quiet in (the Pirates' dugout),” Mercer said. “I'd never been part of a perfect game before. Everybody knew what the situation was. We just tried to have quality at-bats and battle as best we could because nobody wants to be no-hit. But it seemed like Scherzer's stuff got better and better every inning.”
Tabata was nicked by a 2-2 slider, ensuring the Pirates still have never been on the wrong end of a perfect game. Hurdle bristled at suggestions Tabata leaned into the pitch.
Tabata was in the starting lineup Sunday, and there were loud boos all over Nationals Park when his name was announced on the public address system. He was booed every time he came to bat or made a play in the field, all game long.
“That's just fans being fans,” Hurdle said. “Watch the videotape. Play the game. We try to create drama sometimes. I'm not surprised at all. Fans are fans. Everybody might have a thought or opinion, but watch the game. We live in a very reactive society.”
After the game Sunday, Tabata insisted on having teammate Archimedes Caminero translate his answers about the boos from Spanish to English.
“That's going to happen,” Tabata said about the boos. “But that's baseball. I can't do anything about it. I've just got to play.”
It was the second time in three seasons that Tabata has been the Pirates' only baserunner in a game. On Sept. 16, 2013, his seventh-inning single cost San Diego's Andrew Cashner a no-hitter.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Chase Headley is the only other active player who has twice been his team's only baserunner in a game.
With Tabata at first base, Scherzer did not lose focus. He got Josh Harrison on a flyout to secure the no-hitter.
“I think you need to find it in your baseball heart to appreciate the performance,” Hurdle said after the game.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Scherzer is the second pitcher to lost a perfect game after 8 2⁄3 innings on a hit batter. George Wiltse of the New York Giants did it in 1908.
Only three other pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in which the only baserunner reached on hit by pitch.
Hurdle offered to give Scherzer the Pirates' lineup cards as a memento. Scherzer replied that he's already got a lot stuff from the game and instead autographed the cards and sent them back. Hurdle plans to have one auctioned for his Wins for Kids program, which benefits the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh.
“As soon as the game was over, we said, ‘Yeah, we got no-hit, and it stinks. But we've got a game to play the next day,' ” Mercer said. “That's the only way you can do it.”
Rob Biertempfel is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.
