Michael Lorenzen walked to the mound on Wednesday to start the ninth inning — of just his second start with the Phillies, his first in Philadelphia — engrossed in the passion of fans roaring for him to complete a no-hitter, and considered the scene the coolest moment of his baseball career.
“Just walking out of the dugout, hearing the fans go wild, it gave me the chills,” Lorenzen said. “It gave that boost of energy that I needed, for sure.”
Boy, did it get wild in Philly just three outs later.
Photo: AFP
Lorenzen completed the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history, a dazzling performance that led Philadelphia to a 7-0 win over the Washington Nationals.
Lorenzen became the fifth pitcher in major-league history, and only the second since 1900, to throw a no-hitter in his home debut with a new team.
“Unbelievable, bro,” manager Rob Thomson said during a clubhouse toast. “Welcome to Philadelphia, buddy.”
Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY
The Phillies cheered for one of their newest teammates, who has settled in to near-perfection since he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline.
Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins and other Phillies clapped, laughed and yelled “great trade” as team president Dave Dombrowski walked through the clubhouse shaking hands.
The 31-year-old Lorenzen (7-7) struck out five, walked four and improved to 2-0 since he was acquired from the Tigers for a minor leaguer.
Lorenzen retired Lane Thomas on a grounder to open the ninth and struck out Joey Meneses looking.
The crowd of 30,406 erupted when Lorenzen induced a popup from Dominic Smith on his career-high 124th pitch to end his first career complete game in 2 hours, 9 minutes.
After the final pitch, Lorenzen stood on the mound and raised his arms in triumph before running into the waiting arms of catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Lorenzen then flipped his cap backward and was mobbed by his teammates in a rowdy celebration near the plate.
“You’ve just got to live in the strike zone and hope they continue to hit balls right at guys,” he said. “That was kind of the story of the night. If you give up a base hit, you give up a base hit. So what?”
Lorenzen’s mother, Cheryl, and wife, Cassi, wept in the stands during the final out, with Cassi holding their nine-month-old daughter, June.
Lorenzen later held his child aloft on the field and smooched her on the cheek.
He became the first Phillies pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Cole Hamels on July 25, 2015, against the Chicago Cubs.
Phillies left fielder Weston Wilson homered in his first major-league plate appearance and after nearly 2,900 at-bats in the minor leagues.
Nick Castellanos homered twice to reach 200 for his career.
Wilson batted seventh and hit the third pitch he saw from MacKenzie Gore (6-9) into the seats in left-center.
His solo homer gave the Phillies a 4-0 lead in the second inning.
Wilson was selected in the 17th round of the 2016 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and had 2,836 plate appearances in the minors until he was called up on Sunday from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Wilson, who turns 29 next month, was greeted by teammate Bryce Harper at the top step of the dugout, while his family cheered on one of the newest Phillies from the stands.
Wilson walked in the fourth inning, stole second base and scored on a bloop single by John Rojas that made it 6-0.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Angels 4, Giants 1
‧ Athletics 2, Rangers 0
‧ Brewers 7, Rockies 6 (10i)
‧ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 2
‧ Guardians 0, Blue Jays 1
‧ Mariners 6, Padres 1
‧ Mets 4, Cubs 3
‧ Orioles 2, Astros 8
‧ Pirates 5, Braves 6
‧ Rays 4, Cardinals 6
‧ Reds 4, Marlins 5
‧ Red Sox 4, Royals 3
‧ Tigers 9, Twins 5
‧ White Sox 9, Yankees 2
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