Michael Lorenzen tosses a no-hitter in his home debut
On Aug. 1, the Phillies traded for Michael Lorenzen at the deadline, sending infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for the right-handed pitcher.
In his debut with the team, he went eight strong innings, giving up two earned runs in a road win against the Miami Marlins. Six days later, on Aug. 9, he faced the Washington Nationals in his home debut at Citizens Bank Park.
The first inning was a bit of a struggle for the 31-year-old, as he walked one on his way to throwing 24 pitches. Inning No. 2 didn't start much better when he walked catcher Keibert Ruiz on five pitches. He settled in after, though, getting through the inning on 14 pitches and keeping things in check for the rest of the game.
Welcome to Citizens Bank Park, Michael Lorenzen pic.twitter.com/4PpNBAiXky
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 10, 2023
Overall, he issued four walks and had five strikeouts, needing 124 pitches to get the job done and close the first no-hitter for the Phillies since Cole Hamels accomplished the feat back in 2015. It was the first time the Nationals had been no-hit since moving to Washington, D.C., the end of an 18-year streak, according to Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.
After the game, Lorenzen told reporters: "Coolest moment of my baseball career, going out there for the ninth. … Just going out of the dugout and hearing the fans go wild, it gave me the chills."
Lorenzen's pitching masterpiece overshadowed a couple of other impressive Phillies milestones that happened in the game.
In his major league debut after over 700 games in the minors, Weston Wilson homered during his first at-bat, ensuring he wouldn't have to wait to have his first long ball in the big leagues. Right fielder Nick Castellanos collected two home runs in the 7-0 win, the second of which marked the 200th of his career.
The spotlight was firmly on Lorenzen, however, and the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history.