Michael Lorenzen throws no-hitter in second start with Phillies in dominant win over Nationals

Michael Lorenzen has thrown Major League Baseball’s second no-hitter in as many weeks.

Lorenzen threw the fourth MLB no-hitter of the season Wednesday night while leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a dominant 7-0 win over the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Lorenzen recorded five strikeouts, issued four walks and threw 124 pitches in the outing, which was just his second start with the franchise that traded for him last month.

Lorenzen's no-hitter is the first thrown by a Phillie since Cole Hamels did in 2015. Hamels threw his no-hitter in what was his final start with Philadelphia before he was traded to the Texas Rangers. Lorenzen's was the 14th in club history.

Wednesday's game marked the first time that the Nationals have been no-hit since the organization relocated to Washington D.C. in 2005.

Lorenzen, 31, was an All-Star this season for the Detroit Tigers for the first time in his career. The Phillies then acquired him just before the trade deadline in exchange for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee. He made his debut with the team earlier this week, where he threw a season-high eight innings and earned a win over the Miami Marlins.

Lorenzen entered this season with a career 4.49 ERA as a starter. He held a 3.48 ERA this season headed into Wednesday, and he now has a 7-7 record this season.

Michael Lorenzen

RP - TEX - #23

2023 - false season

153

IP

4.18

ERA

1.21

WHIP

111

K

47

BB

The Phillies are the fourth team Lorenzen has played for. After seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds to start his career, he spent a season with the Los Angeles Angels before landing in Detroit.

The no-hitter is the fourth of the season, and the first since Houston Astros star Framber Valdez did so last week. Valdez threw the 16th no-hitter in Astros history with 93 pitches while facing the minimum 27 batters in their 2-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians. Matt Manning and the Detroit Tigers threw a combined no-hitter last month. New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán threw a perfect game in June against the Oakland Athletics. He’s since stepped away from the team for the remainder of the season after checking into a treatment program.

The Phillies picked up three runs in the first inning Wednesday night, thanks to an RBI double from Bryce Harper and a two-run home run from Nick Castellanos. Weston Wilson hit a home run in the second inning in his first Major League at-bat in the second, and Castellanos hit another home run in the third. That suddenly gave the Phillies a 5-0 lead. Johan Rojas and Alec Bohm each hit RBI singles the rest of the way to push Philadelphia to the seven-run win.

The win marked the seventh for the Phillies in their past 10 games. They trail the Atlanta Braves by 10.5 games in the NL East but currently hold the top NL wild-card spot.