Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Anderson pitched 8.1 no-hit innings on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels.
Shohei Ohtani played the spoiler with a one-out triple in the ninth inning that took Anderson out of the game.
He had a marvelous performance nonetheless, with one hit, two walks, and eight strikeouts.
He had 123 pitches at the moment of being removed.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked about the possibility of removing Anderson from the game if he hadn’t given up the hit.
As a reminder, in Clayton Kershaw‘s first appearance of the season, he took the ball from him after completing seven perfect innings with 80 pitches.
“Dave Roberts on SNLA when asked about potentially taking out Tyler Anderson: ‘I know I’ve got this reputation as the Grim Reaper. I’m a sports fan, too. I wanted that as much as Tyler and his teammates wanted that for him,’” Dodgers reporter Blake Harris tweeted, quoting the Dodgers’ skipper.
Dave Roberts on SNLA when asked about potentially taking out Tyler Anderson:
“I know I’ve got this reputation as the Grim Reaper. I’m a sports fan, too. I wanted that as much as Tyler and his teammates wanted that for him.”
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) June 16, 2022
People Still Remember The Kershaw Game
People still have that Kershaw start in their minds.
And it was a perfect game, too, which is much less frequent than a no-hitter.
But the fact remains that they can’t be measured equally.
That start came while Kershaw wasn’t fully stretched out.
He was virtually coming off spring training and wasn’t ready to pitch 90-100 games.
His body wasn’t ready, and his arm certainly wasn’t ready.
It’s June now, most pitchers have at least 60 major league innings under their belts.
Most starters are now comfortable throwing 100 pitches, perhaps a bit more if necessary.
That wasn’t the case when Kershaw flirted with perfection.
So fans still hanging on to that game should just let things go.
NEXT: Tyler Anderson Appreciated Mookie Betts' Effort