Lorenzen dazzles with no-hitter in Phillies home debut
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The 31-year-old dominated the Washington Nationals to record only the 14th no-hitter in Phillies his
New York (AFP) – Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Michael Lorenzen threw a stunning no-hitter on his home debut on Wednesday, just over a week after signing for the club in a trade from the Detroit Tigers.
The 31-year-old dominated the Washington Nationals to record only the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history and only the fourth in Major League Baseball this season. Lorenzen struck out five and walked four in a remarkable 124-pitch outing as the Phillies completed a 7-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies pitcher sealed the no-no after getting rid of Lane Thomas on a grounder at the start of the ninth inning before striking out Joey Meneses. Dominic Smith was then removed after a flyball, sparking wild celebrations from Lorenzen and his new Phillies team-mates at home plate.
Lorenzen said afterwards the raucous support of the Phillies fans had helped get him over the line in the last few innings. "It was incredible walking out for the seventh, for the eighth, for the ninth," Lorenzen said.
"It gave me a boost of energy. These fans, man -- I've never been a part of an organization where the fans are a part of the team. "They play a role on this field for us, and they gave me that boost that I needed (in the) seventh, eighth and ninth.
"I worked insanely hard to make this dream come true ... the fact that I just did it in front of this fan base, I can't believe it." Lorenzen's no-hitter was the fourth of the 2023 campaign. Framber Valdez threw one for the Houston Astros last week while New York Yankees righty Domingo German had a perfect game at Oakland in June.
Detroit's Matt Manning, Alex Lange and Jason Foley threw a combined no-hitter against Toronto on July 8.
