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Sabathia fires one-hit gem, blanks Pirates

Sep 1, 2008 - 1:18 AM By Chris Adamski PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - The Milwaukee Brewers won for the eighth time in 10 games by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-0, on Sunday, completing an impressive month of August to inch closer to their first playoff berth in 26 years.

But all anyone in the clubhouse wanted to talk about was CC Sabathia being "cheated" out of a no-hitter, as Milwaukee manager Ned Yost put it.

Sabathia tossed a one-hitter, allowing only a check swing squibber toward third by Andy LaRoche in the fifth that was ruled a hit after the hard-throwing lefthander failed to field the ball cleanly.

Yost is convinced Sabathia, who improved to 9-0 in 11 starts with the Brewers, would have thrown out LaRoche if he had made the play.

"That's a joke," Yost said. "That wasn't even close. The scorekeeper absolutely denied Major League Baseball a nice no-hitter right there. They threw 'hit' up there on the board before LaRoche even hit the bag. That's a play CC makes easily and throws him out by 10 feet. For me, it's a no-brainer. That's sad, to me that's sad."

Official scorer Bob Webb defended his decision.

"I saw it, called it immediately, believed it was a hit," Webb said. "I think that's a hit in every circumstance. It was a difficult play. Even if he comes up with the ball cleanly, in my estimation, he's got more-than-ordinary difficulty in getting the runner at first base."

Milwaukee improved to 11-1 against the Pittsburgh this season, completing its second three-game sweep of the Pirates in as many weekends. The Brewers (80-56), who are 20-7 in August, are 24 games over .500 for the first time since 1992.

Rickie Weeks led off the game with a home run and Bill Hall and Gabe Kapler each two-run doubles for Milwaukee, but the joy of pulling to within 4 1/2 games of first-place Chicago in the National League Central and maintaining a 5 1/2-edge in the wild card race was diminished by LaRoche's at-bat.

"I've been in the league long enough that I think 29 out of 30 scorekeepers would have called that an error there," said Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, who went 2-for-5 and scored a run.

"CC pitched great, obviously, but to take that away from him, I don't think is fair. Not too many times in your career you have an opportunity to throw a no-hitter. In my opinion that's a no-hitter, no question about it. If you watch that play 50 times, I think it's called an error 49 out of 50."

Hall had two hits, including a two-run double.

"I'm sure everyone in this clubhouse and probably (Pittsburgh's), too, thinks it was a routine play," Hall said.

Sabathia, who walked three and struck out 11, took the high road.

"It is what it is," said Sabathia, who bareheaded a line drive for a double play in the fourth. "The ball was still rolling and I should have picked up with my glove or we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. We won, we swept the series. I think that's the biggest and most important thing about today."

Milwaukee has won 10 of Sabathia's 11 starts since he arrived in a July trade with the Cleveland Indians. He became only the second starting pitcher over the past 90 seasons to win his first nine decisions after changing teams mid-season, joining Doyle Alexander, who went from the Atlanta Braves to the Detroit Tigers in 1987.

"He's one of the best - if not the best - pitchers in the National League, and he showed it today," Pirates manager John Russell said. "He was dominating."

Russell gave a flat "no" when asked if LaRoche's hit should have been called an error.

"I've seen stuff like that happen, a bloop hit or a broken-bat hit or a swinging bunt," Russell added. "I'm not going to feel too bad for (Sabathia)."

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens, who took a perfect game into the eighth inning earlier this month in Arizona, was pretty good himself -- through six innings, anyway. He was charged with three runs on five hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings.

Karstens (2-4) left the game trailing only 1-0 with one out in the seventh, but Tyler Yates served up the two-run to Hall that made it 3-0. The Brewers broke it open with a four-run eighth.

"It's fun to watch (Sabathia) pitch," Karstens said. "Unfortunately, I was on the other side."

After the game, Yost refused to answer a question without addressing Sabathia or the disputed hit call.

"It was a great, great game," Yost said. "Too bad the scorekeeper had to put a damper on it. Eighty wins and we're not even to September yet is a huge deal for us. Twenty wins in August - we just have to keep rolling, keep doing what we're doing."