Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer was one strike away from becoming the 24th pitcher in Major League history to throw a perfect game. Instead he had to settle for a no-hitter thanks to a controversial hit batter.
With two outs in the ninth inning and two strikes on the batter, Scherzer hit Jose Tabata with a pitch ending the bid for a perfect game (via MASN).
However, replays clearly showed that Tabata leaned into the pitch which should have negated the hit batter.
It is a ploy often used by batters and rarely called by the umpires. However, to do so in this situation, with the game no longer in doubt and a pitcher working on a perfect game, would be considered taboo by most in the game.
Scherzer did settle down and get the next batter out to preserve the no-hitter. However, it's hard not to think about what might have been if Tabata had not dropped his elbow into the path of the pitch.
Here is video of the final pitch.