The last time Eduardo Rodriguez started a game, he took the loss against the Royals after allowing five runs and eight baserunners in five-plus innings.
Rodriguez fared considerably better against the Athletics on Sunday, proving too much to handle for a largely anonymous Oakland lineup. Said too muchness meant, in this case, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. That's when things got interesting.
After recording two outs on three pitches, Rodriguez fell behind 2-1 to Marcus Semien, who subsequently hit a groundball up the middle. Rodriguez was able to stop the grounder with his foot, then recovered in time to get the out at first base. At least that was the ruling on the field. The A's challenged the call, and sure enough Semien was deemed safe. Here's the video:
Instant replay is a divisive topic in general, but this situation should be considered a success. Yes, potential history was nipped by a device many consider unnecessary. Yet had the umpires been forced to live with their bad call -- one that, frankly, would've overshadowed Rodriguez's gem had he been able to record the final three outs -- then we'd have another Armando Galarraga situation on our hands. Nobody wants that -- or should want that, anyway.
Besides, there's a human culprit for the no-hitter ending the way it did: Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez. Check out the way Ramirez was positioned to receive the throw, and ask yourself whether a stride toward Rodriguez would've been enough to secure the ball in proper time:
As for Rodriguez, he remained in the game to notch one more out. He didn't factor into the decision, however, as the Red Sox were stymied by Kendall Graveman among others. Craig Kimbrel then ceded the game in the ninth, meaning the entire effort went for naught. You have to feel bad for Rodriguez -- and not just because of Sunday's game, but because this was the second time in a month he had a no-hit bid end amid unusual circumstances, having left an August 16 start due to injury after four innings.
The third time is supposed to be the charm, right? Knowing Rodriguez, the universe will collapse upon itself the next time he's blushing in history's direction.
