This past Thursday marked the six-year anniversary of Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers acestruck out 15 batters without issuing a walk and was one Hanley Ramirez throwing error away from perfection.
Kershaw, instead, settled for what is one of the most dominant no-hitters in MLB history. His 102 game score that evening ranks third behind Kerry Wood (105) and Max Scherzer (104) amongst all no-nos.
Great as the performance was, Kershaw’s no-hitter was the second in as many months for the Dodgers during the 2014 season. In May, Josh Beckett tossed one against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Beckett struck out six and walked three in the contest, throwing a total of 128 pitches. Behind the plate that afternoon was Drew Butera, who became the fifth player in MLB history to catch a no-hitter in both the American and National League.
Another former Dodgers backstop, A.J. Ellis, recalled the ensuing festivities on the flight back to L.A., revealing that an intoxicated Beckett jokingly offered tips to Kershaw and Zack Greinke, via Andy McCullough and Pedro Moura of The Athletic:
At one point, Ellis said, an inebriated Beckett stood up and shouted to the front of the plane: “Hey, Kershaw, Greinke, I’m giving out no-hitter lessons back here. Come on back.”
Beckett was understandably happy to throw the first no-hitter of his 14-year career that afternoon. The playful ribbing that followed wasn’t taken to heart, and it may have even motivated Kershaw to throw a no-hitter himself less than a month later.
Though Ellis wasn’t involved in Beckett’s no-hitter, he actually made headlines after Beckett’s outing for suffering a sprained ankle while celebrating with his teammates on the field.
Ellis’ X-rays came back negative — ruling out a fracture — but missed nearly the next month of play. He eventually returned in time to catch Kershaw’s no-hitter on June 18.
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