Brewers fans, you’ve waited since 1987 for this moment. A combination of eight near-perfect innings from Corbin Burnes, paired with a final frame from Josh Hader, has produced the second-ever no-hitter in franchise history.
Burnes was literally unhittable all night long, with all of his pitches working for him. Seven of the first nine batters he faced went down on strikeouts. Burnes ended the night with a line of eight IP, 14 K’s, and one BB on 115 pitches.
The biggest controversy surrounding this game has come from Craig Counsell’s handling of Burnes. Debate began raging the moment TV crews caught Hader throwing in the bullpen. Should Counsell have allowed Burnes to stay in and go the distance in solo-pursuit of history? Or was the he right to pull Burnes to rest his arm for the postseason and let Hader finish the game?
Corbin Burnes’s performance last night is arguably the best we’ve ever seen by a Brewers starter. Statistician Bill James’s game score metric establishes a system where 40 is the average and 100 is near flawless. Burnes spit out a number of 95… the highest in Brewers franchise history.
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League-Wide Significance:
What was an intense Cy Young race between Zack Wheeler, Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, and Burnes now feels all but settled. It’s as if this performance was the ribbon on an awe-inspiring season that even the most devout Brewers faithful could have never predicted from Burnes.
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Also, it’s worth noting that this performance is historically relevant in other categories as well. Cleveland became the first franchise in MLB history to be on the receiving end of a no-hitter three separate times in one regular season. Additionally, the work of Burnes and Hader officially established 2021 as the year of the no-no. This year now stands alone atop the leaderboard in terms of total no-hitters with eight.
Last night belongs to the Brewers, folks. Here’s to hoping that this is just a taste of what’s to come in October. With this win, the Brewers’ magic number to clinch the NL Central drops to eight, with the potential to drop even further pending the results of the Reds-Cardinals game.
Hope you enjoyed the moment of history made tonight, Milwaukee!
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