Phillies continue combined no-hitter through 8 innings

In a season in which little has gone right for the Philadelphia Phillies, Labor Day has at least proved to be an entertaining distraction. Cole Hamels didn’t allow a hit to the Atlanta Braves through six innings on Monday afternoon, but he was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning after five walks and 108 pitches. Jake Diekman came in for the Phillies and held the Braves hitless in the bottom of the seventh. Rookie Ken Giles, a hard-throwing right-hander who carried a 12.7-per-nine strikeout rate into the game, came on in the eighth inning and struck out Justin Heyward, Emilio Bonifacio, and Freddy Freeman to preserve the no-hitter.

There have been several combined no-hitters in major league history, most recently on June 8, 2012, when Kevin Millwood, who left after an injury, and five other Seattle Mariners combined to beat the Dodgers 1-0. Ironically, that game was caught by Jesus Montero, who on Monday was placed on the suspended list for being an overweight, non-catching catcher who went after a scout with a bat after being gifted with an ice-cream sandwich. Well, he’ll always have that last out by Andre Ethier to tell his kids about.

At this writing the Phillies lead 5-0.