Michael Lorenzen throws first Phillies no-hitter since 2015 in 7-0 win over Nationals

Michael Lorenzen exhaled and climbed the dugout steps once more. But now, in the ninth inning, having thrown more pitches in a game than ever in his nine-year major league career and not allowed a hit, he drew a standing ovation that got louder with every step he took to the mound.

“That was the coolest moment of my baseball career,” the new Phillies pitcher would say later.

Surely, though, what happened next must’ve topped it.

Lorenzen recorded two quick outs, then worked the count full to the Nationals’ Dominic Smith. J.T. Realmuto called for a slider, and since Lorenzen hasn’t shaken off the catcher in his two starts for the Phillies, that was exactly what he threw for his 124th and final pitch.

Smith popped it up to center field, turf that rookie Johan Rojas tends to cover like a tarp. Rojas squeezed his mitt, Lorenzen raised his arms atop the mound, and the Phillies polished off a 7-0 August victory with a champagne toast, just like last October.

“Welcome to Philadelphia, buddy,” manager Rob Thomson said in the clubhouse.

It’s difficult to imagine anyone making a better introduction than Michael Clifton Lorenzen.

Only eight nights earlier, the Phillies acquired the 31-year-old righty from the Tigers in a deadline trade. Since then, all he has done is allow two runs in eight innings at Miami to save a taxed bullpen; moved his wife, Cassi, and baby daughter, June, to Philadelphia; and thrown the 14th no-hitter in the history of a 141-year-old franchise, the first since Cole Hamels in 2015.

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No wonder several players applauded and hollered, “Nice trade,” when president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski walked through the clubhouse.

“Honestly, I didn’t know that he had a no-hitter going until the eighth inning,” said Nick Castellanos, who hit two home runs. “There were so many other things that we were excited about in the dugout.”

Indeed, it was going to take something special — nay, something historic — to bump Weston Wilson from the back page. The 28-year-old rookie, called up two days earlier after seven seasons and nearly 3,000 plate appearances in the minors, hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. He also drew two walks, stole a base, and scored three runs.

» READ MORE: ‘I think I’m going to go deep tonight’: Inside Weston Wilson’s memorable MLB debut with the Phillies

Castellanos, meanwhile, hit his 200th career homer, becoming the 32nd active player to reach that mark. Even resurgent Trea Turner, whose struggles grew so profound that the fans gave him a confidence-boosting standing ovation last weekend, picked up two more hits.

But by the time Lorenzen made that walk to the mound in the ninth inning, he had turned them all into secondary stories.

For years, mostly with the Reds, Lorenzen bounced between the bullpen and the rotation. He even dabbled with playing outfield. (Look up his seven career homers on YouTube.) He has been solid, if unspectacular, with a 108 ERA+ (100 is league average).

And now this? They make movies about games like this.

“This game has punched me in the face so many times,” Lorenzen said. “This is my ninth season. I’ve yet to have a year that I’m happy about.”

Lorenzen was happy with his stuff in the early innings against the Nationals. But they worked a few long at-bats, making him throw 53 pitches through three innings.

The idea that he’d finish a no-hitter was far from anyone’s mind.

“I thought it was cool how he continued to get stronger and get better as the game went,” said Realmuto, who caught Edinson Vólquez’s no-hitter with the Marlins in 2017. “Early on, he didn’t really have his best stuff, he didn’t have his best command. I just feel like it was impressive how much stronger he got as the game went.”

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Lorenzen sailed through the middle innings. When he walked off the mound after the seventh, his pitch count up to 100 — seven shy of his season high — Thomson pulled him into the tunnel below the dugout.

“How are you doing? Are you strong?” Thomson said.

“I’m strong, I’m good,” Lorenzen said.

“All right, I’m giving you 20 pitches,” Thomson said. “You better get quick outs.”

Lorenzen obliged. He got three flyouts on 11 pitches in the eighth inning, including a line drive that Castellanos corralled in right field.

“That’s the first time I really grasped, like, it’s going to be a no-hitter,” Castellanos said. “My heart’s starting to pound, you know? I’m starting to get excited because that becomes a possibility.”

Over in center field, Rojas had one thought.

“I wanted that fly ball,” he said through a team interpreter. “If it comes to me, I definitely have to catch it. Doesn’t matter if it’s an easy play or a hard play. But I wanted the last out to be mine.”

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Lorenzen began the ninth inning by getting Lane Thomas to ground out to third base. He struck out Joey Meneses on a sinker that appeared to be off the plate. Smith made Lorenzen throw seven pitches. What if he’d walked?

“That might’ve been his last hitter right there,” Thomson said. “I may have had to wear a bulletproof vest.”

Instead, Smith hit a fly ball. To Rojas. Perfect.

“It was a relief,” Realmuto said. “It was a different type of moment, but it was reminiscent of when Ranger [Suarez] got the fly ball to send us to the World Series. It was almost that same feeling, like, ‘Yes, we did it.’”

Recapturing that feeling is part of the reason the Phillies gave up touted infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee for Lorenzen. He was billed as rotation insurance, pitching depth in case one of the Phillies’ top five starters gets injured down the stretch.

But Lorenzen is also in the midst of his best season, with a 3.23 ERA. And within this career year, he’s pitching better than ever. He notched a 1.14 ERA in his last four starts for Detroit, then gave up two runs in eight innings of his Phillies debut last week in Miami.

“This is what I’ve worked for. This is a dream come true,” Lorenzen said. “I’m walking out for the ninth inning, I have no hits; I’m in a city like Philly, and these guys are going crazy. I can’t hear the PitchCom, and the PitchCom is all the way up to the highest level. I got a little emotional before that ninth inning started.”

The Phillies added Lorenzen because they think he can help them make more memories this October.

It turns out, he couldn’t wait that long.