The New York Yankees were so to pulling off a combined no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. We’re talking seven innings of pure dominance from Clarke Schmidt, followed by a bullpen handoff that was supposed to lock it down. Instead, a controversial call and a single swing of the bat kept the Yankees from baseball history.
Yankees Schmidt Spins a Gem
Clarke Schmidt was locked in. Seven innings, no hits, and not much even close. He mixed pitches like a chef running a Michelin-starred kitchen—fastballs painting corners, breaking balls falling off the table. The Orioles never got comfortable. Each inning felt heavier than the last, and by the seventh, the buzz around the Bronx was deafening. Schmidt had done everything right. And it looked like this game might go down in the books.
The Check Swing That Changed Everything
Enter JT Brubaker in the eighth. He’s not just trying to preserve the win—he’s protecting a no-hitter. The first batter he sees is Gary Sanchez, the ex-Yankee. Drama already. Brubaker gets ahead and throws a beauty—a pitch down and away that looked like it got Sanchez to chase.
The Yankees thought it was strike three. So did most people watching. But the first base ump had other plans. He ruled that Sanchez held up. Next pitch? Sanchez sends it into center field, clean single. Just like that, the no-no vanished.
One Hit, Big What-If
To pour salt in the wound, that bloop to center was Baltimore’s only hit of the game. One. Uno. The Yankees ended up winning the game 9-0 in a dominant performance, but let’s be honest—this one did not feel like a clean sweep. It felt like a robbery. One borderline call by the official and the magic slipped away.
That’s the nature of baseball. It’s a game of inches, of timing, of judgment calls that can flip a script in a heartbeat. And on Saturday night, what could’ve been a legendary night for Clarke Schmidt and the Yankees’ bullpen became just another solid win—with a sour note that’ll stick in fans’ throats for a while.
