ATLANTA -- Cole Hamels and three Philadelphia Phillies relievers combined to pitch a no-hitter Monday, beating the Atlanta Braves 7-0 and giving a last-place team a rare reason to celebrate.
Hamels (8-6) was pulled after six innings and said he was fine with Manager Ryne Sandberg's decision. The lefty struck out seven, walked five, hit a batter and threw 108 pitches on a hot afternoon at Turner Field.
"Just understanding the situation, every time I went out there I was battling control issues," Hamels said. "I wasn't getting ahead of guys. Walking the leadoff hitter will put you in a lot of trouble, and it does. It builds up your pitch count."
Relievers Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and closer Jonathan Papelbon each pitched a perfect inning to finish off the fourth no-hitter in the majors this season. This was the 11th combined no-hitter in major league history.
Clayton Kershaw and Josh Beckett of the Dodgers and Tim Lincecum of the Giants threw no-hitters earlier this year.
Right fielder Marlon Byrd foiled the Braves' best bid for a hit, racing in and toward the line to make a diving catch on Chris Johnson's slicing liner to end the third.
Kevin Millwood and five Seattle relievers threw the previous combined no-hitter in the majors, against the Dodgers in 2012. The first combined no-hitter came in 1917 when Babe Ruth walked the first Washington batter of the game and was ejected, and Boston Red Sox reliever Ernie Shore didn't allow another runner.
Julio Teheran (13-10) took the loss.
CARDINALS 5, PIRATES 4 Matt Holliday had the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning after Kolten Wong's pinch-hit home run tied it, leading host St. Louis over Pittsburgh. St. Louis moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the first time this season with its third consecutive victory. The Cardinals are one game ahead of Milwaukee.
GIANTS 4-9, ROCKIES 2-10 Hunter Pence hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth and, more than three months after he homered in the early innings, led visiting San Francisco Giants over Colorado in a game resumed after being suspended on May 22 because of rain. In a later game, Charlie Blackmon lined a two-out single in the ninth inning off reliever Sergio Romo, helping Colorado beat San Francisco and stop the Giants' six-game winning streak.
CUBS 4, BREWERS 2 Welington Castillo homered and drove in three runs, Luis Valbuena also hit a home run and host Chicago Cubs sent Milwaukee to its sixth consecutive loss. Rookie Jorge Soler had two doubles in his home debut for the Cubs.
MARLINS 9, METS 6 Giancarlo Stanton hit his 34th home run and host Miami Marlins scored three runs in the eighth inning to beat New York. Dilson Herrera, 20, the youngest player in the majors and the only one to jump from Class A to the big leagues, hit his first career home run and first career triple while driving in three runs for the Mets.
PADRES 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Cory Spangenberg had a two-run single for his first big league hit and Tyson Ross pitched six strong innings to lead host San Diego Padres over Arizona.
American League
ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 1 Adam Dunn provided instant pop for struggling oakland, hitting a towering, two-run home run in his first at-bat for the host Angels in a vicotry over Seattle. Acquired a day earlier in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, Dunn became the 12th Oakland player to hit a home run in his first at-bat with the team.
TWINS 6, ORIOLES 4 Joe Mauer drove in four runs, Phil Hughes (5-9) held host Baltimore without an earned run over eight innings and Minnesota Twins avoided a four-game sweep. Nelson Cruz hit his major-league leading 36th home run and Nick Hundley had a three-run home run for the Orioles.
TIGERS 12, INDIANS 1 David Price (13-10) bounced back from an alarming start and Miguel Cabrera homered twice, as visiting Detroit rolled over Cleveland. Price gave up 1 run and 8 hits in 7 innings. Cabrera hit a two-run home run in the first inning and homered again in the eighth. He went 4 for 5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 3 (10) Matt Joyce hit an RBI single in the 10th inning to help host Tampa Bay salvage a split of a four-game series with Boston. Ryan Hanigan opened the 10th with a double off Burke Badenhop (0-3), which withstood a replay review. Kevin Kiermaier was intentionally walked before Ben Zobrist had a sacrifice bunt. After Wil Myers was given an intentional walk, pinch-runner Sean Rodriquez, who ran for Hanigan, scored on Joyce's hit.
Sports on 09/02/2014