September 8th, 2014 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka You won’t find it on Baseball-Reference.com or any other baseball statistical website, yet it has as big of an impact on a game as hits, home runs and strikeouts. It is commonly referred to in a variety of ways: getting into their head, rattling their cage or simply psyching them out. It is the affect that an individual or a specific incident has on an opposing player, usually a pitcher, in high stress situations and it is a game-changer – and Dee Gordon is the Jedi Master at it.
On Sunday afternoon Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Trevor Cahill took a no-hitter and a 2-0 lead over the Dodgers into the sixth inning. To that point Cahill had allowed exactly two Dodgers to reach base – one on a second-inning throwing error by Dbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius allowing Andre Ethier to reach first base only to be immediately erased on an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play; and the second on a five-pitch walk and stolen base in the fourth inning by Hanley Ramirez, who was left stranded at second base. That was it, two base runners – neither of whom made it past second base.
Dbacks right-hander Trevor Cahill was absolute brilliant for 6.1 innings – and then the wheels fell off.
(Photo credit – Mark J. Terrill)
It was hot, it was humid, and those who were oblivious to what Cahill had going on were already in their air conditioned cars heading home with their A.J. Ellis bobbleheads by the fifth inning. But those who stayed, those who battled the near-100 degree temperatures and near 80% humidity saw the Jedi Master at work – and it was incredible.
With one out in the sixth inning, Gordon lined Cahill’s 67th pitch of the day down the left field line for a double to break up Cahill’s no-hit bid. Cahill was upset – not just a little upset but a lot upset. He was walking around behind the mound and appeared to be cursing – probably more at himself than at Gordon, but maybe a little at Dee.
Cahill immediately began to unravel when Dee Gordon broke up his no-hitter with a double to left.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Cahill’s actions immediately brought Dbacks catcher Miguel Montero out to the mound to try to settle his pitcher down.
It didn’t work.
Cahill walked the next batter, Hanley Ramirez, on four pitches which immediately brought Dbacks pitching coach Mike Harkey out to the mound to try to settle his pitcher down.
It didn’t work.
After Gordon’s double, Cahill walked Hanley Ramirez on four pitches.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
On a 3-1 count, Dodgers slugger Adrian Gonzales absolutely smoked Cahill’s 88-MPH sinker (which didn’t sink) 442 feet to straight away center field four a devastating (for Cahill) three-run home run to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead with one swing of the bat.
After getting Matt Kemp to ground out to short for the second out of the sixth inning (on six pitches), Cahill promptly walked the struggling Andre Ethier on five pitches and his day was done. Dbacks manager Kirk Gibson brought in left-hander Oliver Perez to try to stop the bleeding.
It didn’t work.
The Dodgers would go on to win the game 7-2 after a second Adrian Gonzalez three-run home run followed immediately by a Matt Kemp solo shot, both off of Perez. The second AGon blast was his 22nd of the season and gave him 100 RBIs for the seventh time in his 11-year MLB career. It is also the eighth time in his career that he has hit more than 20 home runs.
Critics who say that Gonzalez can’t hit lefties might have a hard time convincing Dbacks left-hander Oliver Perez of this. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
The point to all of this is that Cahill absolutely came unraveled after losing his no-hit bit on Gordon’s double in the sixth inning. He let it get into his head, rattle his cage and psych him out instead of just blowing it off and continue throwing strikes like he had so effectively done for the previous five innings.
Credit Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp for providing the offensive muscle, but credit Dee Gordon for bringing the intangibles into the mix.
Posted in 
Could I say Cahill was pitching for his own personal pride and not for the Dbacks? I think if we was pitching for the team, which is out of the race, he would have calmed himself down.
Dee’s worth is more than can be found in his stats. He does those little things that can make a difference with the bat, the glove and on the bases.
As for Adrian’s game, Earl Weaver would probably have said the only thing better than a three run homer is two three run homers.
Ever since I have been following baseball closely (which is like 45 years), I have always loved the three-run home run more than anything. Everybody gets all excited about a grand slam, but a three-runner is an absolute back-breaker for the opposing team and happens far more frequently than a slam.
A granny is more luck than anything else because (obviously) you have no control over those batting in front of you.
As much as people are already getting down on Joc for not hitting, he hits the ball very hard when he makes contact – almost Hanley-like. His final fly out on Sunday would have ended up in my glove if it had cleared the wall. He, like AGon, has tremendous power to left field. His first MLB HR is only days away… or sooner.
“His first MLB HR is only days away… or sooner.”
Not if Hernandez and Dilbeck have anything to say about it. They’ve been riding the “start Ethier” bandwagon because of Pederson’s many strikeouts. Joc’s last at-bat, as you mentioned, had the sweet-spot sound ringing in the air when he hit it.