Saturday night, the Dodgers became only the 5th Major League team since 1900 to win a game after being no-hit.
Angels starter Jered Weaver and reliever Jose Arredondo combined for nine innings of no-hit baseball...and lost.
Weaver was not a happy camper afterward.
Now, technically the game wasn't a no-no. A game has to go at least 27 outs (nine full innings) for it to be an official no-hitter. Still, it was something pretty special.
Jered Weaver was untouchable for six innings and Chad Billingsley also pitched a solid game of shutout baseball. The only run came in the fifth, after a series of defensive mishaps.
Matt Kemp hit a comebacker to Weaver, who bobbled the ball and allowed Kemp to reach base. Two pitches later, Kemp stole second and steamed into third when catcher Jeff Mathis threw the putout pitch into center field. Blake DeWitt's sacrifice fly cashed in Kemp's unearned run.
Kemp is learning to make smart baserunning decisions. Hallelujah.
It's the sort of game you definitely don't see every day, and the roar of the crowd after Takashi Saito struck out Reggie Willits to end the game showed that the fans knew it. The Dodgers and Angels knew it too, judging by the stunned jubilation exhibited by the victors and stunned silence of the losers.
This is a perfect example of why I love this game. You think you've seen or heard about almost everything...and then something like this happens. Even the most wizened, jaded fan sits up and takes notice of a game like this. I also take particular satisfaction that we were playing the Angels...as I hate them with the fiery passion of 10,000 suns (suck on that, Anaheim!).
