PITTSBURGH _ The baseball soared into the left-field corner of PNC Park, and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill hung his head. For nine blissful innings, he had held the Pittsburgh Pirates without a hit. His bid for history was foiled by his own offense _ the group went silent at the most inopportune time, meaning Hill would not receive credit for a no-hitter.
Instead, with one pitch in the 10th inning, Hill would wear the weight of a 1-0 loss. He gave up a solo homer to Pittsburgh second baseman Josh Harrison to end the game on a walkoff. Up to that point, only one Pirate had reached base all evening.
The perfect game disappeared in the bottom of the ninth. Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer hit a grounder to third base. With Justin Turner getting a day off, Logan Forsythe manned the position. He booted the ball, unable to secure it in his glove. The error added another strange chapter to Hill's career as a Dodger.
On Sept. 10, 2016, Hill spun seven spotless innings at Marlins Park. The Miami hitters could not touch him. But circumstances could. Hill was making only his third start as a Dodger after missing several weeks with blisters on his pitching hand. During the game, the medical staff noticed the blisters starting to heat up.
Hill finished the seventh at 89 pitches. He had struck out nine. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would not let him go any further, fearful that Hill would tear open the blister and jeopardize his availability for the playoffs. The decision agonized Roberts. "I'm going to lose sleep tonight," Roberts said after the game. "And I probably should."
There was a different sort of anxiety on Wednesday: Whether the Dodgers could score a run for Hill. The game was scoreless after eight innings, as the Dodgers went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position to strand 10 men.
A replay challenge in the second inning preserved Hill's opportunity. In the first at-bat of the inning, Pirates first baseman Josh Bell chopped a grounder to the right side of the infield. Adrian Gonzalez moved to his right to field it. He fed Hill, who swept his glove across Bell's chest as they converged at the bag.
Umpire Paul Emmett signaled Bell safe. Hill told the dugout to contest the decision. The call was overturned quickly, and Hill returned to work.
Two innings later, the Pirates tried to sneak a runner aboard. Harrison, Pittsburgh's All-Star second baseman, squared up to bunt. A pop-up flared toward first base. Gonzalez slid across the grass to catch it. Hill helped his first baseman up and thanked him.
As Hill dominated, the offense squandered chances. The Dodgers recorded six singles against Pirates starter Trevor Williams through the first five innings. None of those hits led to runs. A bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth fizzled when Hill lined out.
Hill does not hide his intensity on the mound. It showed in the sixth inning, after a groundout by Pirates catcher Chris Stewart. Stewart appeared upset at Hill throwing a quick pitch to finish the at-bat. The two exchanged words, barking expletives as Stewart jogged off the field.
The Dodgers continued to squander opportunities at the plate. A leadoff double in the seventh went nowhere. With two outs and two men on in the eighth, Forsythe hung in for a 10-pitch at-bat before lining out to Mercer.
In the eighth, the eldest member of the roster sold out to keep Hill's perfect game alive. Chase Utley, the 38-year-old, silver-haired veteran, dove across the infield dirt to snag a line drive off the bat of Bell. Hill raised his arms to the sky. Utley nodded in response.
The strike zone of umpire Brian O'Nora came under scrutiny with two outs. O'Nora kept the at-bat of outfielder Sean Rodriguez alive on a 2-2 curveball that came close to nipping the outer edge of the plate. Hill fired a full-count fastball inside two pitches later. It looked well off the plate _ O'Nora called it strike three.
Hill was perfect, but his team was still scoreless. They would remain that way, until the end.
