DENVER -- Melky Cabrera's single to left off Colorado starter Kyle Freeland with one out in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon at Coors Field certainly didn't affect the outcome of a 10-0 Rockies victory over the White Sox to close out the first half of the 2017 season.
So why was there such a momentary raucous reaction from the White Sox dugout when Cabrera connected on a 2-2 four-seam fastball slightly up and out of the zone? That single over the head of third baseman Nolan Arenado also happened to stand as the White Sox first and lone hit of the contest.
"We would never like that," said Cabrera through interpreter and catcher Omar Narvaez about being no-hit. "Thank God, I could get the base hit."
"Exciting on our end," White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson said. "It's all cheers for him. He pitched a heck of a game. Congrats to him."
Prior to Cabrera's solid connection, the closest thing to a White Sox hit came from Yolmer Sanchez's blooper to left field leading off the eighth. Left fielder Gerardo Parra got a good jump on the ball, which hung up for a bit, and Parra made a diving catch for the inning's first out.

Parra pumped his fist in celebration. The Rockies' crowd put forth a reaction usually reserved for postseason moments. Narvaez and Willy Garcia struck out to end the frame, putting the White Sox three outs from the 14th no-hitter thrown against them and the first since Minnesota's Francisco Liriano on May 3, 2011.
"I thought I had a little bit of a chance for the ball to fall," Sanchez said. "At this ballpark, it's big. But Parra made a good play. [Freeland] controlled his pitches. He controlled the zone. It was his day today. Sometimes the pitcher comes with his best day."
"It was all Freeland today," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "It seemed like he pulled up some energy at the end and grinded it out. We weren't really able to do anything, string anything together. We had a couple of guys on through a walk or a hit by pitch. We had a few line drives, but other than that, really not a whole lot."
Jose Abreu was hit by a Freeland pitch, and Abreu, Todd Frazier and Narvaez drew walks off the rookie. That bat work and Cabrera's single summed up a rough conclusion to the first half for the 38-49 White Sox.
The no-hitter became noticeable to the White Sox in the fifth or sixth, per Sanchez. History was avoided thanks to Cabrera, who couldn't remember breaking up a no-hitter this late in a game.
"You have to give a lot of credit to the pitcher," Cabrera said. "He was locating everything. I wasn't thinking about anything else -- just to get a good pitch to hit."