I feel old.. Yeah that was a great way to clinch. What was even better was that two games before Jim Deshaes through a 2 hitter followed by the next night Nolan Ryan through a 1 hitter and then a no hitter for the clincher. One of my best friends is a die hard Mets fan and that year is still a sore point between us.
I called in sick to work that day because I was not going to miss being there to see the 'Stros clinch a division title. Scott was on the mound, so it was a foregone conclusion. With the zone he was in, it wasn't unrealistic to expect a pitching gem and maybe even a shutout, but NOBODY saw this coming. Even though the final score was 2-0, most people there knew that was a huge lead for Scott. It's the only time in MLB history a pitcher clinched a division or league title with a no-hitter. For one player in a team sport to completely and utterly dominate his opponent to clinch a title is about the most clutch thing I can imagine. How often does that happen? Maybe two or three times a decade? I remember that Scott hit the first batter of the game and my friend turned to me and said, "That's not a good omen." I also recall around the 7th or 8th innings thinking, "This isn't possible. It's too good to be true." Nobody sat down for the entire top of the 9th. My buddy and I stayed for nearly an hour afterward, not wanting it to end. And yeah, Kerfeld and Anderson with the coneheads was icing on the cake. Kerfeld went absolutely nuts -- he was like a great big kid. Here's a great write-up of the game, including the box score.
