Close call, but Padres still without no-hitter
Lyles loses bid for perfect game in eighth
SAN DIEGO — After 7,858 games, the San Diego Padres are still waiting for their first no-hitter.
Jordan Lyles was the latest to give the long-sufferings fans hope that it could finally happen. After he retired his 22nd straight batter by striking out Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies to open the eighth inning Tuesday, the crowd of 19,598 at Petco Park got loud.
But then Trevor Story swatted a pitch into left field for a single, leaving Lyles five outs shy of the first perfect game in Padres history. The Padres won 4-0 against the Rockies, Lyle’s old team.
The Padres are the only major league team without a no-hitter. While the right-hander’s effort was brilliant, it’s now on the list of close calls that goes back to July 21, 1970, when manager Preston Gomez lifted Clay Kirby after eight no-hit innings against the New York Mets.
Asked if there as a protocol for how players react in the dugout during a no-no bid, manager Andy Green said: “We don’t really know. We’ve never had one.”
“I’d love to see it,” Green said. “Honestly, in those moments, I’m just like everyone else. We want to see something special. We did see something very special today, but we were looking for five more outs.”
Story’s single landed just in front of left fielder Franchy Cordero.
“After we struck out Cargo, that’s when it kind of got real for me,” said Lyles (1-1), who moved into the rotation last week. “The crowd started to get loud, and then we made two good pitches to Trevor.”
Story hit a slider that was down and away.
“I just saw a replay on TV. It was a good pitch, exactly where I would throw it again,” Lyles said. “But after he made contact, being a pitcher, you know places were balls land after contact, and I felt like it was a good chance it was going to touch grass. But we made a good pitch. It was a clean hit, so it was all good.”
Lyles then walked Pat Valaika and made way for Kirby Yates after 85 pitches. Lyles matched his career high with 10 strikeouts. The Rockies hit only two balls out of the infield before Story singled.
This was the second-closest a Padres pitcher came to perfection. Chris Young lost a perfect game bid when he gave up a homer to Gabe Kapler with two outs in the eighth at Milwaukee on Sept. 7, 2008.
Tyson Ross lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the eighth at Arizona on April 20 when Cordero appeared to misjudge a ball by Christian Walker.
San Diego was no-hit by four Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers on May 4 in Monterrey, Mexico.