Watch: MLB star loses no-hitter on late-inning check swing
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin was downright dominant on Tuesday night.
But if not for a check swing by San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt, his performance might have been historic.
The Giants couldn’t get anything going against Corbin, who held them hitless through seven and two-thirds innings. Their only baserunner came by way of a walk, that is, until Belt stepped up to the plate with two outs in the top of the eighth.
Because Belt is a lefthanded hitter, the Diamondbacks shifted their infield to the right during his at-bat.
The defensive strategy might have worked had Belt not offered up a check swing on the 0-1 pitch. He made contact, grounding the ball weakly toward third, and was able to beat the throw for an infield single.
Undeterred, Corbin didn’t let the Giants’ first hit in bother him, despite the fact that the game was scoreless up to that point. He got the next batter out, and after the Diamondbacks scored in the bottom of the inning, Corbin retired all three men he faced in the ninth.
It might not have been a no-hitter, but it was still an impressive performance for the 28-year-old, who’s now 3-0 with a sparkling 1.65 earned run average in four starts.
All told, Corbin pitched nine innings, striking out eight, and allowed just the two baserunners. It was the first complete-game shutout of his career, according to CBS Sports.
“It was fun. I just felt locked in the whole game,” Corbin said after the victory. “(Catcher) Alex (Avila) did a great job. We just mixed it up a bit from the last outing and it seemed to work out.”
Corbin said he didn’t even realize he had a no-hitter going until the end of the seventh inning, when center fielder A.J. Pollock made an outstanding diving grab to rob Giants catcher Buster Posey of what might have been extra bases.
“It seems like every time something like this happens there’s always a play,” Corbin said, per The Arizona Republic.
“I thought that was off the wall,” he added, referring to Pollock’s catch. “It wasn’t a very good pitch. But to give up a couple hard-hit balls on bad pitches and they were caught and make a good pitch and they get a hit, that’s baseball.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, meanwhile, acknowledged that it’s tough to lose a no-hitter on a check-swing infield hit, but said he’s just glad the Diamondbacks were able to come away with the win.
“Unfortunately, we played a shift. We played an aggressive over-shift and we saw what happened, it was a check swing and you can’t predict those things,” Lovullo said. “That’s a tough way to have it happen, but I know Patrick is very satisfied with the outing, the complete game and the win.”
Corbin certainly seemed to agree, indicating that the win is all that really mattered to him.
“I don’t know, I feel like I’d feel the same if I had a no-hitter,” he said. “I mean, to come away with a win was huge. That eighth inning, to get a run was awesome.”
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