Philly Sports Jabronis
ATLANTA — Cole Hamels had grandiose plans when he joined the big leagues in 2006.
Cy Young Awards.
No-hitters.
World Series championships.
Hamels often spoke about these things as a young pitcher. He got his ring in 2008, but he had been searching for his first National League Cy Young Award and no-hitter since. He got the latter on Monday afternoon when four Phillies pitchers combined for a no-no in a 7-0 victory over the Braves at Turner Field. Hamels threw six no-hit innings before the bullpen finished the game.
Cole Hamels went six innings of hitless, shutout ball before Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon held him to a combined no-hitter as the Phillies beat Atlanta, 7-0, on Labor Day. Photo credit – Philly.com
Hamels threw 108 pitches, and on a hot and humid afternoon, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg decided to pull his pitcher for pinch-hitter Grady Sizemore in the seventh. Jake Diekman struck out two in a perfect seventh and Ken Giles struck out the side in a perfect eighth to set up closer Jonathan Papelbon for the first combined no-hitter in franchise history.
Papelbon got pinch-hitter Jose Constanza to fly out to left fielder Domonic Brown, Chris Johnson grounded out up the middle to Jimmy Rollins and Phil Gosselin hit a soft line drive to first baseman Darin Ruf to end the game.
Papelbon gave a fist pump to catcher Carlos Ruiz as teammates ran onto the field to celebrate on the mound.
It was the 12th no-hitter in Phillies history, including Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2010 NL Division Series.
Hamels said following the game that the team is dedicating the game ball to David Montgomery, the Phillies’ CEO, who is on leave battling cancer.
Hamels walked five and hit a batter, so there is no question he has been sharper over the course of his career. But he had good enough stuff to keep the Braves hitless with the help of some good defense. Marlon Byrd made a great diving catch to save a couple runs from scoring in the third inning.
The last pitcher to be pulled after six no-hit innings was Seattle’s Kevin Millwood on June 8, 2012, when he left with a groin injury. Four Mariners relievers combined with Millwood for a no-hitter against the Dodgers.
The last Phillies pitcher to be pulled after six no-hit innings was David West on May 29, 1994, when he left because he had not been stretched out. It was his second start since being converted from a reliever. Heathcliff Slocumb allowed two hits in the ninth inning to end the no-hit bid.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Cody Asche doubled, advanced to third on Hamels’ sacrifice bunt and scored on Ben Revere’s sacrifice fly to left field.
Philadelphia made it 2-0 in the sixth with a little more help from Hamels and Revere. Hamels started the inning with a single to right and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Revere, his seventh of the season and 21st of his career. Rollins tripled to right to score Hamels.
It was Rollins’ second hit of the game and the 658th multihit game of his career, which set the franchise record. Richie Ashburn finished his Phillies career with 657.
The Phillies broke open the game in the seventh when Revere hit a bases-loaded triple to make it 5-0. Revere added another RBI in the ninth to give him a career-high five.
