The Philadelphia Phillies’ historic night against the Washington Nationals ended with the 14th no-hitter in Phillies franchise history. It was thrown by Michael Lorenzen in his first home start for the Phillies. Lorenzen becomes the first Phillies pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Cole Hamels did it against the Chicago Cubs in 2015. That game would be the last for Hamels in a Phillies uniform. It is also the Phillies’ second no-hitter at Citizens Bank Park. The other was thrown by Roy Halladay in 2010 against the Cincinnati Reds in the postseason. Additionally, Lorenzen walked four batters and struck out five throwing 124 pitches to complete the no-hitter.
This is the second no-hitter that J.T. Realmuto has caught. The other one was thrown by Edinson Volquez while Realmuto was on the Miami Marlins in 2017. According to Sarah Langs and the Elias Sports Bureau, Realmuto now has the chance to become the 19th catcher to have caught at least three no-hitters or perfect games. In Phillies history, Carlos Ruiz has caught the most. Throughout his time with the Phillies, Ruiz would catch three no-hitters and one perfect game. In MLB history Ruiz and Jason Varitek are the two catchers that have caught four no-hitters or perfect games.
Michael Lorenzen throws the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history. His family’s reaction is everything. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9NARDYMwK0
— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2023
A Historic Night In Philadelphia
Lorenzen is just a part of the group of Phillies that made history on August 9th. In his MLB debut, Weston Wilson hit a home run and stole a base becoming the first Phillies player to do so in their debut. In addition, Wilson became the sixth Phillies player to hit a home run in their first career at-bat. Marlon Anderson did it against the New York Mets in 1998, the most recent time before this game. Prior to this, Wilson has made 2,836 trips to the plate in the minor leagues. Before Wilson did it, Jose Offerman in 1990 was the most recent instance of a player accomplishing this feat within the first two plate appearances of a career.
To add to the Phillies’ historic night, Nick Castellanos hit the 200th home run of his career. With this Castellanos becomes the 372nd player in MLB history to have at least 200 career home runs. Castellanos now has 19 home runs on the season. Castellanos is second on the Phillies in home runs this season. The next home run hit by Castellanos would give him his fifth season with at least 20 home runs. As a team, the Phillies rank 17th in home runs across the Majors with 131 on the season. Castellanos has surpassed his home run and RBI totals from last season even before these home runs.
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Phillies Unusual Leadoff Hitter
For most of this season, Kyle Schwarber has been first in the Phillies lineup. In games where Schwarber bats first this season, he has a .188/.312/.437 line with 17 home runs and 45 RBI and has been walked 43 times. Overall Schwarber has a .183/.324/.433 line with a team-leading 30 home runs and 72 RBI while having been walked 83 times this season. That walk total is good enough for 2nd in the NL currently. While those numbers seem unusual for a leadoff hitter, Schwarber has a .749 OPS this season while batting first and a .757 OPS on the season as a whole. However, Schwarber leads the NL in strikeouts with 149.
On August 8th against the Nationals, Schwarber hit two home runs giving him his 14th multi-homer game while batting first. Schwarber is tied with Baltimore Orioles legend Brady Anderson for fourth on the all-time list for multi-homer games from the leadoff spot according to Sarah Langs. Two of the three players ahead of Schwarber on the list are still active. George Springer and Alfonso Soriano are tied for second on the list with 19 such games and Mookie Betts has the most all-time with 24 such games. Schwarber now has his fifth season where he hit at least 30 home runs and that includes both of his seasons with the Phillies.
Main photo credits:
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Michael Lorenzon, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, J.T. Realmuto, Edinson Volquez, Carlos Ruiz, Jason Varitek, Weston Wilson, Marlon Anderson, Jose Offerman, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Brady Anderson, George Springer, Alfonso Soriano, Mookie Betts
