July 25, 2015
Matt Marton/AP
Cole Hamels' teammates celebrate with him after his no-hitter against the Cubs.
Phillies starter Cole Hamels made history Saturday and did something he's never done in his career by no-hitting the Chicago Cubs in a 5-0 win.
Coincidentally, it may also be his last start in red pinstripes.
Hamels struck out 13 Cubs batters on 129 pitches and issued just two walks, both to Dexter Fowler, as the lefty put on a dominant performance against one of the teams rumored to be interested in acquiring his services prior to Friday's MLB trade deadline.
"It's not in my thought process," he told reporters after the game. "I've just been trying to go out there and work on my pitching."
For Phillies fans, the no-no may have come as a surprise considering Hamels had posted a 6.10 ERA in his previous seven starts, not to mention allowing 14 runs in just 6.1 combined innings in his last two. It was enough to make some wonder if the former World Series MVP's trade value was diminishing.
He clearly proved any doubters wrong on Saturday.
"It was just exciting to pick the team up," Hamels said on the field after being showered with ice water by Ben Revere. "It's nice to finally participate myself."
But it didn't come without its fair share of hold-your-breath moments, including the final out of the game, a long fly ball to the warning track off the bat of rookie phenom Kris Bryant.
That catch was the second time in as many innings that Odubel Herrera had to make a catch while falling down on the warning track.
"Nothing will top winning a World Series," Hamels said. "But this is right there, on that top list with it."
"It's definitely one of the most special moments I've had," he added.
Last year, Hamels -- along with Jake Diekmann, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon -- was part of the team's combined no-hitter in Atlanta on Labor Day (9/1), but his previous high for hitless innings was passed when he struck out Chris Denorfria to end the seventh inning. That strikeout was the final out of a stretch in which the 31-year-old sat down six of seven batters -- the only other was a walk to Fowler -- in the sixth and seventh innings.
Another one of those strikeouts came against Jorge Soler, who was being honored at Wrigley Field with his own bobblehead. It was Soler's third time striking out in the game, and after the game, he decided to go take out his frustrations on his bat.
Best contact Jorge Soler has had all day was cracking that bat over his knee. #3K's #Hamels
— Mark LeValley (@CoachLeValley) July 25, 2015
Adding insult to injury, Hamels doubled the very next inning as the Phillies increased their lead to 5-0. Their first three runs came off the bat of Ryan Howard, who hit a three-run home run in the third inning.
For the Phillies, it was their seventh win in eight games since the All-Star break as they've improved their record to 36-63 on the season.
