Cody Ross spoiled the no-hitter and the shut-out all at once on a line drive that just cleared the fence over Matt Diaz’s head. That pitch was the first thing even resembling a mistake that Lowe has thrown tonight, as he’s been magnificent, and had faced the minimum number of hitters up until that point. Of all the Giant hitters to break the deadlock in this one, I wouldn’t have predicted Cody Ross. Derek Lowe really did look unhittable before Ross’s shot.
Still, the damage was limited as Lowe began by striking out Fontenot, and ended it by retiring Bumgarner and Torres without incident. This was Lowe’s most labored inning yet, as he took 21 pitches to get out of it. He’s up to 84 on the night, and he’ll probably have one more inning left in him unless the Braves need to pinch hit for him in the bottom half.