No-hitters are rare, but not a wholly uncommon occurrence.
The Phillies recorded baseball's fourth no-hitter this year, following no-hit gems from Los Angeles' Baseball Reference's Game Score.
| Date | Team | Opp | # Pitchers | Game Score | SO | BB | UER | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/12/1997 | PIT | HOU | 2 | 100 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 6/11/2003 | HOU | NYY | 6 | 97 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 9/1/2014 | PHI | ATL | 4 | 94 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| 6/8/2012 | SEA | LAD | 6 | 93 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 9/11/1991 | ATL | SDP | 4 | 91 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 9/28/1975 | OAK | CAL | 4 | 90 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 6/23/1917 | BOS | WSH | 2 | 88 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 4/11/1990 | CAL | SEA | 2 | 88 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| 7/13/1991 | BAL | OAK | 4 | 88 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| 6/28/2008 | LAA | LAD | 2 | 86 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 7/28/1976 | CHW | OAK | 3 | 79 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 9 |
| 4/30/1967 | BAL | DET | 2 | 74 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 9 |
As you can see from the table above, the Phils' no-hitter against Atlanta yesterday is the third-best combined effort in MLB history, trailing only Pittsburgh's 10-inning no-hitter against Houston in 1997 (Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon were responsible for that one) and Houston's incredible six-pitcher effort against the Yankees in New York back in 2003.
Perhaps the most notable combined no-hitter was the one that took place in 1917, the one with the seventh-best Game Score of 88. That was the game in which Babe Ruth walked the lead-off hitter and was tossed from the game after arguing with the home plate umpire about the strike zone. Ernie Shore then relieved Ruth, and retired the next 26 batters he faced (the runner who walked was thrown out trying to steal second). In essence, Shore had pitched a "perfect game," but didn't get credit for it. Also, with just two strikeouts in that game, it was not as dominant a pitching performance as the ones listed ahead of it.
As for Monday's no-hitter, the Phils' game score of 94 was second-best among the four no-hitters thrown this season.
| Player/Team | Game Score | SO | BB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton Kershaw | 102 | 15 | 0 |
| Phillies | 94 | 12 | 5 |
| Tim Lincecum | 92 | 6 | 1 |
| Josh Beckett | 90 | 6 | 3 |
Yesterday, the Phils combined for 12 strikeouts, the second-most ever in a combined no-hitter. Hamels had seven of those Ks (and was also responsible for all five walks, hence his high pitch count), while Diekman notched two strikeouts and Giles struck out the side in the 8th.
Of course, most no-hitters carry with them a lot of luck, and there have certainly been some less-than-spectacular no-hitters thrown. Analytically speaking, no-hitters are not the best indicator of true pitching dominance, which is why Game Score is such a good stat. It assigns point totals to hits, earned runs, unearned runs, innings pitched, strikeouts and walks, and weighs them all accordingly.
Since 2012, there have been 13 no-hitters thrown in the Majors, including yesterday's in Atlanta. Five of those 13 no-hitters had a Game Score below 95. During that same time, there were 10 pitching performances in which a pitcher gave up at least one hit that generated a Game Score of 95 or higher, better than those five no-hitters 94 or lower.
Not giving up hits isn't the best gauge of a pitcher's true dominance. But they sure are fun. And yesterday, the Phillies gave baseball a fun afternoon.
At least, it was fun everyone not rooting for the Atlanta Braves, anyway.