Dodgers’ Rich Hill Pitches 8 Perfect Innings, 9 No Hit Innings, and Loses Game in 10th

Last season, Los Angeles Dodgers lefthander Rich Hill was pulled from a game against the Miami Marlins after seven perfect innings pitched on concerns about a recurring blister the pitcher had been dealing with. On August 23rd, Hill had another perfect game going, this time against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the ninth, when Los Angeles third baseman Logan Forsythe committed an error allowing Pittsburgh’s Jordy Mercer to reach first base. So the perfect game was over but the no hitter was still intact, and after a sacrifice bunt, Hill retired the last two batters to complete nine no hit innings, and send the scoreless game into extra innings.

The Dodgers were retired in order in the top of the 10th. Hill returned to the mound for the bottom of the tenth, and faced Josh Harrison to lead off the inning. Harrison hit a fly ball to deep left field that carried just a little past the desperate reach of left fielder Curtis Granderson and into the seats for a walk off home run to end the no hitter and the game for a 1-0 Pirates victory.

If you can’t remember the last time a major league extra inning no hitter was broken up by a walk off homer, that’s because this was the first time it’s ever happened. The Dodgers had plenty of opportunities to win, but left 10 runners on base and were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.