Four Phillies Pitchers Combine for No-Hitter

The Phillies got a bright spot in their lost season.

Four Phillies pitchers — Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon — held the Atlanta Braves hitless for nine innings in the Phils’ 7–0 win. It was the first combined no-hitter in the Phillies’ history, and the team’s first since Roy Halladay threw one against the Reds in the 2010 National League Division Series.

Hamels struggled with his control early on, walking five, but he didn’t allow a hit over his six innings and was taken out after just 104 pitches on the hot Atlanta afternoon. During ESPN’s broadcast of the game, Larry Bowa told a reporter Hamels was done and the decision to take him out was a mutual one between the pitcher and manager Ryne Sandberg.

Diekman, Giles, and Papelbon threw perfect innings to preserve the no-hitter. Diekman struck out two; Giles K’d all three batters he faced. Papelbon was impressive, too, though it took a nice play from Jimmy Rollins to get Chris Johnson for the second out of the ninth.

Perhaps considering their last-place 63–74 record, the Phillies had a muted celebration of the no hitter.

On offense, Ben Revere went 2-for-3 with a triple and 5 RBI. He came into the game with just 15 runs batted in on the season.

It was the fourth no-hitter of the 2014 baseball season. Josh Beckett no-hit the Phillies on May 25th. The last combined no-hitter in the majors before Monday’s was in 2012, when six Seattle Mariners pitchers no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers.