Thursday began innocently enough, with the the Los Angeles Dodgers set to face Matt Moore and the San Francisco Giants in the finale of a three-game set. Los Angeles was in position to sweep the series and extend their lead in the National League West to four games.
It was also Corey Seager bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium. But the game was turned on its head as the Dodgers made the surprising decision to package A.J. Ellis in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Any lingering shock the Dodgers may have felt wasn’t aided by Moore pitching one of his best games this season. The southpaw mowed his way through the Dodgers’ lineup for much of the night.
A Denard Span catch on the run in the second inning loomed large as each inning went into the books and the realization Moore may throw a no-hitter began to set in.
After Moore tossed 119 pitches over eight no-hit innings, he lobbied to remain in the game. Span came to his aid yet again in the ninth, making a sliding catch to rob Kiké Hernandez of a leadoff single.
Moore was forced to a full count by Howie Kendrick, but he eventually induced a groundout to second base. Seager represented the Dodgers’ final hope on what had been an emotional day.
The young shortstop again delivered for his teammates, flaring a base hit into right field to prevent the Dodgers from being on the wrong side of history:
Dodger Stadium erupted once Seager’s base hit dropped in right field, and despite the 4-0 loss, fans cheered when the one hit was mentioned by public address announcer Todd Leitz as he recapped the final box score.
Seager didn’t make much of his two-out single, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged it was a silver lining of sorts.
