Corey Seager is a no-hitter's worst nightmare.
The Texas Rangers shortstop, in Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs against Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez, who had no-hit the Rangers up until that point.
And for the second time in his career, Seager played the role of the ultimate spoiler, denying Valdez his no-hitter with a two-run home run into the right field seats, sending the fans at Globe Life Field into an absolute frenzy. The crestfallen Astros southpaw could only watch the ball fly and shake his head.
Corey Seager hits a 2-run homer to break up Framber Valdez's no-hit bid with 2 outs in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/aOJzl3AXMN
— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2024
Not only is it the second time Seager has broken up a no-hitter, but it's the second time he's done so at the last possible point in the game, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Seager did so, coincidentally also in August, with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2016 when he lined a bloop single into right field against San Francisco Giants lefthander Matt Moore, breaking up his no-no.
He is the only player in MLB history to accomplish the feat twice.
Seager, a two-time World Series MVP and the MVP of the 2020 National League Championship Series, is no stranger to big moments. And stepping up to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning facing the prospect of being no-hit is undoubtedly a big moment.
The moral of the story? Stay far away from Seager if you're pitching a no-hitter, especially if it's the ninth inning.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Corey Seager Breaks Up No-Hitter For Second Time in Career, Denying Framber Valdez .
