Orioles manager explains why he pulled pitcher David Hess from no-hitter
New Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde on Monday had to make one of his toughest decisions since taking over the job.
Hyde pulled David Hess during the 7th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays even though the pitcher had a no-hitter going.
Hess walked just one and had faced one batter over the minimum before being pulled after 6.1 innings. Hyde said he did not want to extend Hess so early during a long season.
Hyde on removing Hess in no-hitter: "I let him go as far as I could let him go… it's the right thing long term, obviously for his health & the ball club, for everything, it's a 6-month season….to extend him WAY past where he should finish in my opinion wasn't smart."
— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) April 2, 2019
#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
Hess threw 82 pitches in the game and had just gone through an 8-pitch at-bat against Brandon Drury. The 25-year-old is only in his second season in the bigs and the Orioles are hoping he will have a bright future. There’s no reason to push him so early in the season.
Hess didn’t seem to be too happy about the decision.
.@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 USA (@DAZN_USA) April 2, 2019
Hess isn’t alone here. We’ve actually seen pitchers pulled under more exclusive circumstances.