The decision stemmed from caution, the noble pursuit of protecting a young man’s arm, rather than the quest for history.
In the eighth inning of a 3-2 loss to San Francisco, Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts chose discretion over risking injury to rookie Ross Stripling’s surgically repaired right elbow. After 100 pitches across 7 1/3 innings of a no-hit debut, Stripling handed the baseball to Roberts and walked into the dugout.
The choice stunned the crowd at AT&T Park. The fans jeered Roberts. The group would erupt just moments later, when Giants catcher Trevor Brown tied the score with a two-run homer off set-up man Chris Hatcher.