CC drops his own no-hitter

The Brewers said they planned to ask baseball to overturn the error call on a Sabathia error in the fifth inning

By ALAN ROBINSON , Associated Press

Last update: September 1, 2008 - 7:51 AM

Print this story

More from Sports

PITTSBURGH – To the Milwaukee Brewers, CC Sabathia’s one-hitter was really a no-hitter.

Sabathia held the Pirates to Andy LaRoche’s infield single leading off the fifth inning Sunday, and the Brewers beat Pittsburgh 7-0.

Brewers manager Ned Yost argued for a no-hitter, contending LaRoche reached on an error by Sabathia, who fumbled a soft roller in front of the mound.

“That’s a stinking no-hitter we all got cheated from,” Yost said. “I feel horrible for CC.”

LaRoche’s grounder on a 2-2 pitch rolled about 45 feet between the plate and the mound before Sabathia picked it up barehanded, only to drop it.

Bob Webb, a major league official scorer for 20 seasons, immediately ruled a hit. Webb said he watched LaRoche out of the batter’s box and the runner was two-thirds of the way down the line as Sabathia was picking up the ball.

The play in question is routinely called a hit and fielders often get angry when they get errors on easier plays. The Associated Press polled eight writers from both cities who have reported on the majors for 10 years or more, and six would have called it a hit.

The Brewers said they planned to ask baseball to overturn the call. However, only the official scorer may change a judgment scoring call. A reversal would reward Sabathia with the first retroactive no-hitter in major league history.

Sabathia blamed himself for LaRoche getting on.

“The ball was still rolling and I probably should have picked it up with my glove. We probably wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Sabathia said. “I think if I pick it up with my glove, I get him.”

Sabathia wouldn’t speculate whether he would have gotten LaRoche if he had picked the ball up cleanly barehanded.

As it stands, it is the fourth one-hitter of the season in the major leagues.