Credit: Mark Bradley
Credit: Mark Bradley
Labor Day brought a logical culmination to the five months that had come before. The Atlanta Braves were no-hit by four Phillies pitchers, the first of whom -- Cole Hamels, who can be great -- wasn't terribly great by his standards. He walked five and hit a batter in six innings, after which he retired, having thrown 108 pitches.
The Braves did nothing -- not against Hamels, not against the three relievers who followed him. A season spent doing little on offense reached a nadir in its 138th game. No runs, no hits, no chance.
Ready for the really weird part? Until Ben Revere lined Julio Teheran's final pitch over Jason Heyward's head for a three-run triple in the seventh, the Braves were in it. Their starting pitching was again very good. But that starting pitching, which has worked a big-league-best 97 quality starts, saw yet another strong outing amount to nothing. As the saying goes, you can't win games 0-0. (Although the Braves did win 1-0 Sunday.)
They've scored one run in 27 innings, which even by Braves standards is pathetic. They pushed five men into scoring position in the first three innings Monday. Didn't matter. The team that entered the game 29th in the majors in runs again proved its worth, or lack thereof.
Through eight innings, the Braves left more men on base than the Phillies, who would wind up scoring seven runs. The Braves had their chances, and afterward both Fredi Gonzalez and Chris Johnson averred that they'd fashioned some good at-bats. Good AB's, perhaps. But zero R's. And zero H's. Holy mackerel.
From myajc.com: The Braves, who can't hit, are actually no-hit.
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