CHICAGO — Cole Hamels threw his first solo no-hitter Saturday, striking out 13 batters in the Philadelphia Phillies' 5-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in a National League game at Wrigley Field. Hamels threw 129 pitches over nine innings and allowed just two baserunners on walks as the Phillies won their third straight and seventh in eight games since the Major League Baseball All-Star break.
“It is one of the most special moments I have had,” said the 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player Hamels. “It finally felt like it was clicking and I was able to just let things happen.”
Hamels has been the subject of trade rumors of late and his no-hitter comes just six days before MLB's trade deadline.
Coming into Saturday's contest, the 31-year-old hurler was winless in his last nine starts, but there was no sign of his recent struggles in the way he pitched against the Cubs — who had not been no-hit in five decades.
“I was just happy I was able to execute pitches in the first two innings,” he said. “I have had a tough time in the past couple of weeks doing that.” The game ended on a falling catch by Phillies rookie center fielder Odubel Herrera on the warning track which touched off a celebration by Hamels' teammates in front of a crowd of 41,000.
It is the 13th no-hitter in Phillies' history and the first time the Cubs have been no-hit since Sandy Koufax's perfect game for the Los Angeles Dodgers in September 1965. The Cubs are said to be one of the teams looking at trying to land Hamels.
Cardinals 1, Braves 0: Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez threw eight scoreless innings while Shelby Miller's streak of winless starts reached 12 as St. Louis eked out a 1-0 win over Atlanta at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Nationals 9, Pirates 3: Michael Taylor went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs and Gio Gonzalez won his fourth straight decision as the Washington Nationals downed the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3.
Taylor, the rookie leadoff-hitting center fielder, capped the scoring with a two-run home run in the eighth inning off Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero. It was Taylor's seventh homer of the season.
Mets 15, Dodgers 2: Rookie left fielder Michael Conforto and center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis had hits in their first four at-bats as the New York Mets totaled a season-high 21 hits in a 15-2 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Tigers 5, Red Sox 1: Nick Castellanos hit a home run and drove in three runs as the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1 on Saturday.
Castellanos, Detroit's third baseman, also hit a two-run double for Detroit (48-49). Detroit left fielder Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo homer against his former team and also threw out a runner at the plate.
Blue Jays 8, Mariners 6: Toronto first baseman Chris Colabello, whose first career home run came in the 13th inning of a 2013 win over the Seattle Mariners, provided some Safeco Field heroics again on Saturday in the Blue Jays' 8-6 win.
Colabello's bases-loaded, two-run single off Seattle closer Carson Smith in the top of the ninth inning finished off a Toronto comeback from three runs down.
The Blue Jays (50-49) trailed 6-4 in the eighth before pinch hitter Ezequiel Carrera tied the score with a two-run home run. Other results: Orioles 5, Rays 1; White Sox 10, Indians 3; Yankees 8, Twins 5; Royals 2, Astros 1 (10 innings); Rangers 7, Angels 6
Inter-League Giants 2, A's 1
Left-hander Madison Bumgarner limited the Oakland Athletics to one run in seven innings and helped his cause with his third home run of the season, delivering the San Francisco Giants a 2-1 victory .
In beating their cross-bay rivals for the second consecutive day, and 15th time in their last 18 meetings in San Francisco, the Giants posted a fourth straight win and seventh in eight games since the All Star break. — Agencies
