Philadelphia Phillies pitchers Matt Moore and Héctor Neris combined for seven no-hit innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, putting them in position to make Major League Baseball history with the eighth no-no of the season. Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson subsequently wrecked the attempt, delivering a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning against Archie Bradley.
The modern record for most no-hitters thrown in a single season, then, momentarily remained seven -- a mark reached this year, as well as back in 2015. However, Tyler Gilbert of the Diamondbacks recorded the record eighth no-no hours later, silencing the Padres in his first career start on Saturday night.
Earlier on Saturday, Moore worked the first six innings, striking out eight batters and walking two on 76 pitches. It appeared that he would be lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth, but manager Joe Girardi permitted him to bat for himself, albeit only to bunt over a runner. Moore was then surprisingly removed at the start of the seventh inning in favor of Neris, who recorded a perfect inning. Girardi went back to the bullpen to begin the eighth, inserting Bradley. Alas, that proved to be the end of the line for the Phillies' no-hit bid.
Moore, 32, entered Saturday having accumulated a 6.79 ERA (59 ERA+) and a 1.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 50 innings this season. He'd split the season between the rotation and the bullpen, making nine starts in 17 appearances. Moore had spent the 2020 campaign overseas, pitching for Nippon Professional Baseball's Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Saturday's game would have marked the 13th no-hitter in Phillies franchise history, and the first since Cole Hamels threw one against the Chicago Cubs on July 25, 2015. Hamels was also responsible for the franchise's other no-no over the past decade; that contest was a combined effort by Hamels and three relievers (Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon) against the Atlanta Braves in September 2014.
