On Sunday, C.C. Sabathia had an impressive pitching performance, pitching a complete game one-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. What was the difference between his one-hitter and a no-hitter?
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche hit an infield single that Sabathia could not handle. While it could have been argued that there should have been an error charged to Sabathia, the MLB ruled that it was indeed a hit.
Even though the Brewers ended up winning that game by a score of 7 to 0, they sent a DVD and a written explanation to the MLB to protest the ruling on the hit. Had the hit become an error, Sabathia would have thrown just the second no-hitter in franchise history (Juan Nieves pitched a no hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on April 15, 1987).
Official scorer Bob Webb had ruled it a hit, and he still calls that play a hit.
