Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jorge Lopez was brilliant on Saturday night against the Minnesota Twins. The 25-year-old carried a perfect game into the ninth inning, just three outs shy of MLB history.
As he sat on the verge of throwing the 23rd perfect games in MLB history, baseball fans in social media tuned in anxiously to see what would happen in the final inning.
Twitter started going crazy at the possibility of the 25-year-old throwing a perfect game at the start of the ninth, drawing more fans into the moment.
https://twitter.com/dasilva_chace/status/1038600185847271429
Jorge Lopez has a career record of 2 wins, 5 losses and is on the verge of @MLB history
— Steve Chenevey FOX5 (@stevechenevey) September 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/Matt_Shelp/status/1038600062878863361
Lopez lost the perfect game immediately in the bottom of the ninth, but Twitter stuck around intently to see if he would at least pull off the no-hitter.
Jorge Lopez loses the perfect with a walk, but still has the no-no intact.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) September 9, 2018
NOOOOOOOOOO #JorgeLopez 😭
— Alberto Vallejo (@Alberto1Vallejo) September 9, 2018
No one else is going to say it, so I guess I will: The first pitch Jorge Lopez threw to Max Kepler was on the bottom line of the zone. It was called a ball. He threw the same pitch the first 2 pitches of the next at-bat. They were called strikes. He should have had a perfect game
— Sam Spears (@the_sam_spears) September 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/jheld22/status/1038604393858433025
Unfortunately, Lopez allowed a hit to the next batter he faced and his shot at another chapter in MLB history was lost.
I’m not going to say that I jinxed Jorge Lopez’s no hitter
But the moment I turned the game on, Robbie Grossman got a hit
Sorry @ArmchairRoyals
— Armchair Angels (@ArmchairAngels) September 9, 2018
With Jorge Lopez's perfect game for the Royals ending in the ninth, Felix Hernandez's 2012 perfect game remains the most recent of 23 such games in MLB history. James Paxton is most recent to throw a no-hitter.
— TJ Cotterill (@TJCotterill) September 9, 2018
Well that sucked but I appreciate you Jorge Lopez for making Kansas City baseball relevant for a few hours this season
— Logan Routh (@Baby_Routh_) September 9, 2018
Thus endeth the no-hitter. Back to your lives
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 9, 2018
While it wasn’t the moment Royals fans were ultimately hoping for, it at least provided a few hours of enjoyment in a disappointing season for Kansas City.