Clayton Kershaw pitches flawless no-hitter vs. Rockies

Jun 18, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) celebrates after recording the final out of his no hitter against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers won 8-0.Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in just 24 days, the Los Angeles Dodgers got to celebrate a magical night, this time on their home turf as the ace of all aces, Clayton Kershaw made the Colorado Rockies look like a Pony League team.  En route to his first career no-hitter, Kershaw used just 107 pitches, and struck out a career high 15 Rockies.  His fastball was sizzling, his slider was diving, and his curveball seemed to defy the laws of physics, simply put, the Rockies had no chance.

The no-no was a flawless one because the one batter who reached base for the Rockies, outfielder Corey Dickerson, was allowed to reach safely because of a throwing error by Hanley Ramirez in the top of the 7th inning (Incidentally, the only other no-hitter with only an error accounting for the lone base runner was at the fault of another Dodger, Juan Uribe, who spoiled a perfect game for Jonathan Sanchez in 2009 with the San Francisco Giants).  Dickerson would make it to third base, but Kershaw didn’t blink, freezing catcher Wilin Rosario with a mystifying curveball for a called strike three.

Kershaw cruised through the final two frames, clearly aware of the goings on at Chavez Ravine tonight, his only scare coming on a Josh Rutledge line drive, just a couple feet foul down the left field line.  He proved to the world though, just why the Dodgers saw fit to invest $215 million in the left handed Texan.

Kershaw’s 15 K’s tied Braves legend Warren Spahn for the most in a no-hitter by a left handed pitcher.  After Josh Beckett‘s gem in Philadelphia, the second no-hitter of the season for the Dodgers marks the first time it has happened for them since Carl Erskine and Sal Maglie tossed no-hitters in 1956.  This was the 22nd no-hitter in Dodgers franchise history.

By the way, Kershaw improves to 8-2 on the season, lowers his ERA to 2.52, and the Dodgers now trail the reeling Giants by just four games in the NL West.  Suffice it to say, things are about to get real interesting out west.