Four Phillies combine to no-hit Braves

Sep 1, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels (35) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon will forever be slated as the four pitchers to throw the first combined no-hitter in Philadelphia Phillies history.

“I have a lot of confidence in these guys,” said Hamels after the game.  “I think it’s just fun to really see the pitching staff as a whole, especially because the bullpen’s been lights out.  I was able to get away with six innings and I didn’t have as much control as I would’ve liked.”

Hamels earned the win in a 7-0 shutout of the Atlanta Braves, but wasn’t totally in command throughout six innings.  The ace threw 108 pitches, just 66 for strikes, while walking five.

Diekman followed with a perfect seventh inning, striking out a pair.  He said he was unaware there was a no-hitter in the works until he looked at the scoreboard as he entered the game.

Ken Giles and his 1.26 ERA struck out the side, throwing 11 of 15 pitches for strikes.  In his last 9.1 innings has given up just one earned run and three walks.

To finish the game, Jonathan Papelbon used nine pitches in the ninth inning.

“To have these types of guys come in and shut the door in the fashion that we did, I would say it’s a pretty impressive day just to see that because it took the whole team to do it,” said Hamels.

It was not only an historic day for Philadelphia pitching, but a couple Phillies had career days at the plate.

Ben Revere came into the series opener with 15 RBIs on the season.  After going 2-for-3 he brought his season RBI total to 20 and hit his second career triple off Braves starter Julio Teheran.

Jimmy Rollins continued his rise in the Phillies record books as he became their all-time leader in multi-hit games with 658.  He passed Richie Ashburn, the previous record holder and was a home run short of the cycle.

The most recent Phillies no-hitter came in 2010 from Roy Halladay who had two that year.  The Phillies were also no-hit by Josh Beckett of the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this season.