Moore loses no-hitter with 2 outs in 9th, Giants top Dodgers

Moore almost gave San Francisco a major league record five straight years with a no-hitter. Seager was celebrating a bobblehead night, and he brought a crowd of 53,297 to life by blooping an inside fastball into shallow right. The hits haven’t fallen when the pitching is stout, and the pitching leaks when the line drives come, and sometimes at the end of the day there’s no answering to the last play. Chase Utley’s 10-pitch strikeout only inflamed the problem, and when Moore returned to the dugout, Bochy was waiting.

“You’re still going up there and competing, you’re still trying to get on base, still trying to win a game”, Seager said of his approach in that final at-bat. It’s one of those things where you don’t ever want that to happen.

Moore just smiled after Seager’s hit. The 27-year-old lefty was 0-3 in his first four starts for San Francisco.

“That’s a pretty good rush right there”, Moore said on MLB Network after the game. “It was a fun ride all the way up until that point. there’s not a lot to be angry about. I think the smile just kind of came out”. It would have tied Carlos Ruiz, who was traded to the Dodgers earlier Thursday, and Jason Varitek for most by a catcher in Major League Baseball history.

“I’m telling you, I couldn’t feel better”, Moore responded.

But tonight he had ideal command of his fastball, curve and changeup, no-hitting the confused Dodgers through 8 2/3 innings. In that game, manager Dave Roberts lifted Stripling, who got a no-decision, after 100 pitches and turned it over to the Dodgers’ bullpen.

McCann’s afternoon capped a red-hot last month for the catcher, who entered the day hitting.212 on the season.

Had the Giants lost, they would’ve been swept by the Dodgers and fallen another game back.

Santiago Casilla replaced him and put the finishing touch on a 4-0 victory that clipped the Giants’ deficit to two games in the NL West.

“He had everything working tonight”, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Moore. Losing two of three and getting swept, there’s a huge difference.

Beyond that, Bochy said, “This game was probably as big a game as we’ve had all year”. He’s been here a long time. “Whether we got a hit in the first or the ninth, it doesn’t matter”.

Moore (8-10) was one out away from history when rookie Corey Seager sliced a single to right field to end the no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning.

Ross Stripling (3-5) took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings.

Posey had a head-slumping reaction to Seager’s hit, saying, “I think my facemask nearly hit the dirt”.

The Dodgers’ hitters showed the most consistent direction Thursday night.

The Phillies also sent $1 million to the Dodgers for A.J. Ellis, minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named or cash.

NOTES: Dodgers OF Andre Ethier (broken leg) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night. Bud Norris will start the opener at 7:10 PM ST. He held up his glove hand and gave Buster Posey a fist bump, and then he did something remarkable given the disappointment of the moment.

Rookie Seth Lugo pitched five scoreless innings before a right calf cramp forced him out and Alejandro De Aza drove in a career-high five runs as NY defeated St Louis in the rubber match of their three-game series. The Giants led 4-0. He is 5-5 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 career games vs. Chicago. He has a win against the Cubs when he was with the Braves earlier this year.

The Red Sox also served as spoilers back on September 2, 2001, as Yankees ace Mike Mussina was one strike away from tossing a ideal game at Fenway Park.