Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw flirted with history on Wednesday, but his bid at baseball immortality was thwarted by a surprise early exit.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner was lifted after seven perfect innings -- on just 80 pitches -- against the Twins in Minnesota.
Kershaw, 34, turned back the clock for the matinee, retiring the first 21 Twins batters without a blemish. The 15-year veteran struck out a whopping 13 batters in his season debut, but he was replaced by left reliever Alex Vesia to start the home half of the eighth inning.
Vesia promptly surrendered a one-out single to Minnesota's Jorge Polanco, dashing any hope of a combined perfect game or no-hitter.
The decision by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to pull Kershaw was highly controversial on social media, where most users seemed to think Kershaw should have been allowed to chase history.
In fairness to Roberts, he's clearly thinking about the long season that lay ahead, and Kershaw, who has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, is an important part of the rotation, especially with Trevor Bauer's future looking uncertain.
And Kershaw, for his part, stuck up for his manager, saying his removal was "the right decision."
Still, the prospect of one of baseball's rarest feats being subverted by a manager's decision was a bridge too far for some.
Here's what Baseball Twitter was saying:
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