Inside the Phillies Combined No-Hitter

Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon combined to no-hit the Braves on Sunday, the first no-hitter since Roy Halladay, and 12th in franchise history. It was the first combined no-no in team history, and featured six innings from Hamels, and one each from Diekman, Giles, and Papelbon. Box scores: Baseball Reference, ESPN, Fangraphs, MLB. Here are some other notes from the historic game:

– Dating back to 1914, there have been 11 combined no-hitters in MLB, most recently being the Mariners with a 1-0 win over the Dodgers in 2012.

– The Phillies threw 147 pitches–108 by Hamels, 15 by Diekman, 15 by Giles, and nine by Papelbon. 147 is good for the 4th-highest total recorded. For comparison, Roy Halladay threw 115 pitches. The most thrown in a no-hitter was 151 by the Astros in 2003. Three former Phillies pitched in that game–Roy Oswalt (1.0 IP), Brad Lidge (2.0 IP), and Billy Wagner (1.0 IP).

– The four pitchers used is one of just five such games.

– Six baserunners were allowed by the Phillies, including four(!) stolen bases–making it the only such game in known history. There have been 32 no-hitters with six or more baserunners allowed, but just one with at least four stolen bases.

– Hamels has given up a hit just under every inning and a third this year (169.1 IP, 143 H), slightly above his career average (1766.0 IP, 1571 H). For comparison, in 2010, Roy Halladay went just over one inning for each hit (250.2 IP, 231 H). Sunday was the second time Hamels left a game without giving up a hit, the other time being in 2010 when he exited after two innings against the Braves.

– The Phillies have had a pitcher throw a hitless outing 194 times this year. Hamels, obviously, had the longest outing at 6 IP, but the 2nd-longest outing is a bit surprising. Jeff Manship (remember him?) threw four no-hit innings against the Mets on May 31. He pitched in innings 10-13 before being relieved by Antonio Bastardo

–who then gave up a game winning single to David Wright.

– At 190 minutes, Sunday’s no-hitter was the longest ever recorded. Clayton Kershaw‘s no-no from June is now 3rd-longest.

– For the Braves, they were the first team in 2014 to fail to score a run with at least four stolen bases and six baserunners. The Yankees did it in 2013 and the Red Sox did it in 2012.

– The Phillies faced 33 batters–six over the minimum. There have been 22 no-hitters with at least 33 batters faced, including Tommy Greene‘s no hitter in 1991 against the Expos.

– The seven runs the Phillies scored is most by the team in a no-hitter since 1903 when they put up ten runs against the Cubs. It is the 2nd most runs in a combined no hitter.

– Carlos Ruiz has now been the catcher for three unique no-hitters. The only player with more is Jason Varitek.

– The Phillies join the Giants in having three no hitters in the last five seasons.