Justin Verlander was only 4 outs away from his third career no-hitter and second of the season when Erick Aybar of the Angels laid down a bunt to try to break up the no-hitter and get his team base runners late in a 3-0 game.
Chris Iott was able to get comments after the game regarding the play from Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia who said it was “a great play.” Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland referred to it as “beautiful” while Tigers ace Justin Verlander thought it was “Bush League”.
“Very surprised,” Verlander said of the bunt attempt. “It’s a three-run game. It’s a close game. There’s arguments both ways, but obviously from a pitching standpoint, we like to call it Bush League. But there’s arguments on both sides of it.”
Leyland saw things different…
“Beautiful play,” he said. “I’ll be in the minority with the people that didn’t like that. I disagree with that totally. They’ve got a good team with a lot of speed. They’re trying to win a pennant, just like we are. I don’t have any problem with that play whatsoever.”
Angels manager Mike Scioscia went as far to say that he thought it should have been a base hit instead of an error…
“That’s a great play with Erick’s bunt,” he said. “That should have been a hit. We’re trying to get back into the game, and we snuck back into it.”
The bunt attempt may not have been as big of an issue if Weaver didn’t get tossed prior to this for throwing at Alex Avila. The bottom line is that both teams are in the middle of a divisional race and runs today were at a premium.
“Bush League”? Maybe. Understandable, without a doubt.
Nonetheless it’s probably a good thing that Aybar didn’t get another chance to face Verlander…
Source: Mlive.com