Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and catcher A.J. Ellis embrace after Kershaw no-hit the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. (John McCoy/Staff photographer)
Clayton Kershaw came within a Hanley Ramirez error of throwing a perfect game on Wednesday night.
Kershaw couldn’t control the defense behind him, but here’s some data on a few things he could control, including pitch selection, pitch speed and location. All statistics via BrooksBaseball.net:
| Pitch Type | Velo (Max) | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes / % | Swings / % | Whiffs / % | BIP (No Out) | SNIPs / % | LWTS |
| FA (Fastball) | 93.8 (95.6) | 1.15 | 12.33 | 56 | 40 / 71.4% | 28 / 50.0% | 6 / 10.7% | 8 (0) | 32 / 66.7% | -3.27 |
| CH (Changeup) | 87.4 (88.1) | 4.72 | 10.44 | 2 | 1 / 50.0% | 1 / 50.0% | 0 / 0.0% | 0 (0) | 1 / 50.0% | -0.01 |
| SL (Slider) | 87.1 (91.1) | -2.87 | 4.03 | 31 | 27 / 87.1% | 24 / 77.4% | 12 / 38.7% | 4 (1) | 23 / 85.2% | -2.67 |
| CU (Curveball) | 74.5 (76.7) | -1.97 | -8.00 | 18 | 11 / 61.1% | 8 / 44.4% | 4 / 22.2% | 1 (0) | 10 / 58.8% | -1.26 |
| Pitch classifications provided by PITCH INFO.SNIPs are “Strikes Not In Play” and do not include any balls in play. LWTS are linear weighted outcomes per pitch type.Velocities are assumed from 55ft (rather than the gameday standard of 50ft) for increased realism.
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| Inning | Pitches in Inning | Strikes in Inning | Strike% in Inning | Cumulative Total Pitches | Pitch LWTS in Inning | |||
| 1 | 12 | 8 | 66.67 | 12 | -0.848 | |||
| 2 | 17 | 11 | 64.71 | 29 | -0.862 | |||
| 3 | 17 | 12 | 70.59 | 46 | -0.862 | |||
| 4 | 8 | 8 | 100.00 | 54 | -0.848 | |||
| 5 | 11 | 7 | 63.64 | 65 | -0.848 | |||
| 6 | 13 | 10 | 76.92 | 78 | -0.877 | |||
| 7 | 15 | 9 | 60.00 | 93 | -0.344 | |||
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 100.00 | 101 | -0.862 | |||
| 9 | 6 | 6 | 100.00 | 107 | -0.848 | |||
Some more numbers, courtesy of FanGraphs.com’s Dave Cameron:
28 batters came to the plate; 15 of them struck out. Of the 13 who managed to put the ball in play, nine of them hit the ball on the ground. One of the four balls hit in the air didn’t leave the infield. His FIP for the game was -0.24, because the model isn’t designed to handle dominance at this level. His xFIP was 0.19.
Here is the full list of nine inning outings with a Game Score of 102 or better, since 1914.
Kerry Wood: 105 (9 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 20 K)
Clayton Kershaw: 102 (9 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 15 K)
