The Indians nearly accomplished something on Thursday afternoon they had not in 34 years: throw a no-hitter. It would have been a combined no-hitter using four pitchers but one nonetheless.
The last team no-hitter?
Lenny Barkers perfect game.
It would not come to pass, however. A solo home-run from Jed Lowrie with one out off Nick Hagadone in the bottom of the ninth destroyed the Indians chance at history. The round-tripper cut the Tribe lead to four.
The Indians ended up winning 5-1 but the question remained: Should Terry Francona have gone with somebody other than Hagadone to help achieve the no-hitter. He had both Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen, arguably better pitchers than Hagadone, still in the bullpen to be used as options.
Burning River Baseball writers John Arthur Hutchison and Mike Melaragno argue both sides of the table:
Nick Hagadone was the wrong choice for the 9th – John Arthur Hutchison
How could the Indians let Nick Hagadone pitch the ninth inning to complete a no-hitter? This isn’t meant as an attack on him, because I’m a fan of Hagadone and he is an important part of the team, but this was a spot for the team’s best reliever to pitch and that would be closer Cody Allen, who has consistently delivered in the clutch when the pressure was on. Sure, it was not a save situation and the Indians had a comfortable 5-run lead in the ninth inning, so you usually put in a setup guy to hold down the fort, right?
No. This was a special occasion and a chance to make franchise history because it has been since May 15, 1981, when Len Barker threw a perfect game that a Tribe pitcher tossed a no-hitter.
According to MLB Network, the Indians as a franchise have the longest drought between no-hitters. San Diego has never thrown a no-hitter, so they do not count. Thirty-four years is a long time. Many Tribe fans weren’t even born when Barker threw his perfect game. So many said they were there in-person, but the paid attendance that night was 7,290.
Perhaps there’s an argument that resting Allen would keep him fresh for Opening Day and the rest of the series with Detroit because winning a game against a division opponent is more important for the long-term goal to win the AL Central and ultimately the World Series. I’m not buying that argument — this was a chance for immortality right now and an early season boost for the Indians and their fan base and a town that can’t stop talking about Johnny Manziel or who the next Browns quarterback should be.
How much fun would it have been instead to talk about the previous day’s no-hitter while listening, watching or attending Opening Day at Progressive Field?
I still remember when Barker threw that perfect game even though I didn’t see it in person. However, I will soon forget if Allen gets the save on April 10 against the Tigers. Trevor Bauer pitched amazingly well in his six innings along with an inning each from Kyle Crockett and Scott Atchison. Even Hagadone pitched fine considering he had a five-run cushion and only gave up the one hit and run. In an ordinary game, he did his job.
To me, it was a pressure situation on a big stage and the closer was sitting on the bench resting for the next series. Sometimes, you have to take the bull by the horns, suck it up and go for it and this situation called for it. Allen pitched on April 8th against Houston and got the save, but he threw just nine pitches to get three outs. He should have been quite fresh.
What if Allen isn’t even needed on April 10 against the Tigers and a chance at history was let go without the team’s best bullpen guy out on the mound fighting to preserve it? Saving him for that game would turn out to be pointless if that turns out to be the case. It’s quite possible Allen could have pitched the ninth and given up a hit and everything would be a moot point for my argument, but I would have liked to have seen him given that chance rather than a setup lefty who hasn’t had that great of a spring so far.
I do concede that a combined no-hitter has a different feel than a starter throwing a complete game gem. But so what? It still counts the same, doesn’t it? I guess for now we won’t get to find out and that’s a shame.
Fortunately, it was still an easy win by the Tribe, but to me it felt like a loss after all was said and done. The disappointment was comparable and it felt like yet another bad moment in Cleveland sports history.
Nick Hagadone was the right choice for the 9th – Mike Melaragno
Leading off the bottom of the ninth up 5-0, the Indians had a 99.8% chance of winning the game. With only three outs to go, they could have gave Carlos Santana the ball to pitch and still would have won the game. The cushion gave Francona the option of looking ahead and setting up his bullpen for the next two series, which are against two key division rivals: the Tigers and White Sox.
The fact that it was a no-hitter has little value in the scheme of what the Indians are trying to accomplish this season. They have one goal in mind – to win the division for the opportunity to win a world championship.
To preserve the no hitter, they could have brought in a better pitcher to finish off the bottom of the ninth instead of Hagadone. Even though he earned a 3.26 FIP in 23.1 innings of work in ’14, he is considered wild and ineffective to some. He is more than capable of being one of the Indians relief aces this season.
The main argument was to hand the ball to either Shaw or Allen so that the Indians would have a no-hitter on the record books. This is shortsighted because doing so would have:
1. Not guaranteed a no-hitter anyway
2. Not allowed Francona to use either Shaw or Allen (whichever one he called upon) for today’s home opener against the Tigers.
A key to winning the division is having a good record against those same division opponents. The Tigers, who are the overall favorite to win the central, have a powerful lineup that can strike at any time. Part of preventing them from doing so is having a fresh bullpen who are ready to kill a rally late in a game.
I would rather one of them (or both) be able to pitch on back-to-back days during the Tiger series than waste that opportunity preserving the no-hitter.
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