Phillies toss combined no-hitter in 7-0 win over Atlanta

The Philadelphia Phillies tossed the twelfth combined no-hitter in major league history on Monday, as they wrapped up a 7-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. 

Cole Hamels (8-6) started the game and the history, tossing six innings, but after throwing 108 pitches (66 strikes), he was removed from the game after being hit for in the top of the seventh inning. He struck out seven Braves, but walked five in an overall interesting outing. 

Following Hamels' exit, Jake Diekman took the hill in the seventh. He promptly struck out two consecutive hitters in Andrelton Simmons and Gerald Laird to begin the inning, and retired Joey Terdoslavich   on an easy ground ball to second baseman Chase Utley. Diekman was replaced by rookie flamethrower Ken Giles, who easily struck out the side in order. He has a 52 to nine strikeout-to-walk ratio in 35 2/3 innings on the season, where he has allowed just five earned runs (1.26 ERA). 

Jonathan Papelbon took the ball in the ninth inning, where he got an easy fly ball to left field, a broken bat ground out to short, and a hard line out to first base to wrap up the Phillies no-hitter and 7-0 victory in Atlanta. He will not record the save, but he gets his name written into history. 

The combined no-hitter is the twelfth of its kind in baseball history. The last one came on June 28, 2012, when six Seattle Mariners pitchers combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies have been on both sides of a no-hitter this season, as Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter against them back on May 24 in a Dodgers 6-0 win over Philadelphia. 

This no-hitter was the 11th regular season (12th overall) no-hitter for Philadelphia since their founding in 1883. The last one came on May 29, 2010, when Roy Halladay tossed a perfect game against the then Florida Marlins. Halladay added to his Cy Young season in 2010 with another no-hitter in the playoffs, as he threw a no-hitter against the Reds in game one of the 2010 NLDS. 

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