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Monday night, Baltimore Orioles pitcher David Hess was absolutely cruising in his outing against the Toronto Blue Jays. Through 6-1/3 innings, Hess was up 6-0, had faced just one batter over the minimum, struck out 8 batters and walked one on just 82 pitches, and best of all he had a freaking no-hitter going.
That’s when the Orioles rookie manager Brandon Hyde paid Hyde a visit on the mound.
And took him out of the game.
Seriously.
Watch…
.@hess_express28 was absolutely STUNNED when Brandon Hyde pulled him from the game with a no-hitter in tact. 😱#ChangeUp pic.twitter.com/nXtQNl86zC
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 2, 2019
Naturally, as soon as Hyde was gone from the game the Orioles proceeded to allow two runs to score, and three more in the eighth and ninth innings, and barely eeked out a 6-5 win.
“I was shocked because I knew my pitch count was decently low,” said Hess following the game, reported the AP.
When asked why he made the unpopular decision to pull Hess, Hyde said he had planned to pull him earlier, but left in him because of the no-hit bid, “For David to go beyond that (pitch count) obviously and then some, was incredible. But that was a terrible walk. I hated to do it, but for David’s health and one of, hopefully, 30-plus starts, it was the right thing to do.”
#Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and starter @hess_express28 explain the decision to take out Hess with a no-hitter intact. pic.twitter.com/oFWntPVGGA
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) April 2, 2019
The fact that Hess had also just pitched two innings of relief on March 28th versus the Yankees also played into Hyde’s decision.
So, while no one liked Hyde pulling Hess with a no-hitter going, it wasn’t completely idiotic. It just sucked and didn’t make anyone happy.
Witness…
Toronto fans are booing Brandon Hyde for pulling David Hess with a no hitter with one out in the bottom of the 7th inning. pic.twitter.com/VzdRyb77WK
— SportsTalk with Kash (@lazysportsdude) April 2, 2019
I’m sure Brandon Hyde will offer a logical reason for pulling David Hess. He probably had real-time info that indicated fatigue. The reasoning will likely be sound. But no-hit bids are entertaining, and isn’t entertainment the whole point of this enterprise?
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) April 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/Bruce45Sports/status/1112887474274140160
Brandon Hyde, you don't do that. Come on. That is horrible. 7 run lead you let Hess keep working the no hitter. We see you @hess_express28. You are always super classy so we'll say it for you: Bush league by the rookie skipper. He'll regret that decisio
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 2, 2019
Brandon Hyde yanking Hess during a no-hitter (for a pitcher who then serves up a two-run home run) just gave everyone a mini-masterclass on how to lose a clubhouse. #Orioles
— Matt McDermott (@MMMcDermott) April 2, 2019
David Hess is trying to talk Brandon Hyde out of yanking him, but to no avail.
Hess, with a no-hitter through 82 pitches in 6 1/3, gets pulled. Wow.
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) April 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/JackEsteem/status/1113053914646134786
https://twitter.com/ClampedByMarlon/status/1112886014396260355
https://twitter.com/BradyLawrence/status/1112889615982256128
Brandon Hyde watching the 9th inning after pulling Hess with a no hitter #Orioles pic.twitter.com/fM5TDCy9cu
— Chuck Sapienza (@chucksapienza) April 2, 2019