The baseball world was abuzz on Friday night when Yu Darvish saw his perfect game go by the wayside late in the Rangers' win over Boston when Alex Rios and Rougned Odor converged on a shallow pop-up from David Ortiz and watched the ball hit the ground.
It was assumed the play would be ruled a hit and Darvish's no-hitter would be gone in the seventh inning. Instead, the Globe Life Park official scorekeeper ruled the play an error, keeping a no-hitter alive for Darvish even if his perfect game bid was gone.
Of course, Darvish ended up taking his no-hitter into the ninth inning and was one out away from history when Ortiz stepped to the plate again and hit a groundball single into the teeth of a defensive shift. After the game, Ortiz said he would challenge the ruling that his seventh inning hit was an error. On Monday, he did just that, and on Wednesday morning MLB officially ruled the play a hit.
Imagine the uproar if Darvish had indeed gotten out of that ninth inning without allowing a hit, had celebrated and been the latest pitcher to throw a no-hitter, only to have it taken away five days later. It'd be foolish to put that past MLB, known for its overwhelming desire to uphold the integrity of the game and its traditionalist values. But apparently, Ortiz had already said he wouldn't have challenged the ruling if Darvish had completed the no-hitter.
At least Darvish can now say he didn't lose a perfect game and a no-hitter with one out to go, at least not yet.
