Cody Asche beats the shift to break up Chad Bettis’ no-hit bid

As we’ve seen many times in the past, Major League Baseball teams will not hesitate to use a shift or unusual defensive alignment when there’s a lot on the line. That even includes moments when history hangs in the balance, as was the case on Friday night in Philadelphia.

Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis put on a remarkable pursuit of the franchise’s second ever no-hitter, carrying his bid against the Phillies into the eighth inning. After retiring Maikel Franco to begin the inning, Colorado employed a dramatic shift against left-handed swinging Cody Asche that they hoped would aid Bettis in his efforts. Unfortunately, it did just the opposite. On a 1-0 pitch, Asche hit what would have been a routine ground ball to shortstop, but with Troy Tulowitzki playing on the other side of the infield, it scooted through for a clean single.

No-hitter over, and suddenly at that point the game-tying run was at the plate.

“Initially, I thought it was right at ‘Tulo’ — perfect, here we go,” Bettis said after the game. “Then I turned around and looked and I was like, ‘Aw, man.'”

it’s strange to think Bettis wasn’t completely aware of the shift behind him, but apparently that was the case. Either way, he allowed one more hit in the inning but escaped without allowing a run. The Rockies went on to win 4-0, but one can’t help but wonder how things may have played out with a standard defense.

It was just one of those decisions that was bound to backfire or look brilliant, and unfortunately it was the former this time.

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Bettis was making just his 12th career start on Friday. He set down 18 straight Philadelphia Phillies to begin the game. His bid for perfection ended on a Ben Revere grounder that skipped past the mound and wasn’t cleanly handled by Troy Tulowitzki. The play was ruled an error, which allowed his his no-hit bid to continue.

Overall, it was a stunning performance given Bettis’ lack of notoriety and his MLB track record. Through 40 MLB appearances overall, Bettis had managed a meager 6.29 ERA in 88 2/3 innings. Not exactly numbers that instill confidence, but the Rockies rotation has been so uneven and ravaged by injuries they were left with no choice but to extend another opportunity. So far, he’s seizing it.

Bettis struck out a modest five, which doesn’t give the appearance of a dominant outing, but Phillies batters were unable to get good swings all evening. Despite the Tulowitzki error, his defense played a critical role as well. In the seventh inning, defensive replacement Charlie Blackmon made a diving grab in center to rob Freddy Galvis of at least a single.

For all we know, this could be the high point for Bettis. But again, considering the circumstances in Colorado, an outing like this can lengthen the slack significantly. Now we’ll see how he builds on it and whether or not he can cement his place.

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