After the first few innings Wednesday night, Michael Lorenzen figured he only had a few more left. He had thrown 22 pitches in the first and 50 through the third, slowed by long at-bats and a pair of walks. Lorenzen said he was "upset at myself for those first couple innings and I knew, 'Aw man, I just ruined my chance to go deep in this game.'" He would forgive himself later.
In his first home start with the Phillies since being traded last week by the Tigers, Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in franchise history -- and the first since Cole Hamels in 2015 -- in Philadelphia's 7-0 win over the Nationals. How's that for an introduction?
"That was the coolest moment of my baseball career, going out there for the ninth," Lorenzen told reporters in Philly. "Just walking out of the dugout and hearing the fans go wild, it gave me the chills."
At the time, Lorenzen was at 111 pitches, already a season high. He needed 13 more to finish the job, going 3-2 on the game's final hitter, Dom Smith, before inducing a pop-up to center. At Comerica Park, the Tigers played the last out on the video board between innings of their win over the Twins as Lorenzen's old teammates watched -- and cheered -- from the dugout.
"It's awesome," said Eric Haase, who caught 10 of Lorenzen's games with the Tigers. "Instantly happy for him. He's been pitching for a while, but to really take on the role of a starter over the last year or so, the growth that he made in a short amount of time was crazy here. Defining his arsenal and becoming good at that, obviously it's showing."
When Scott Harris and the Tigers signed Lorenzen to a one-year deal last winter, he had a career ERA north of 4.00, mostly as a reliever. "We think there's more in there," Harris said at the time. "We think he's just scratching the surface as a starter." They backed it up by helping him simplify his arsenal and significantly lower his walk rate. Lorenzen, in his ninth MLB season and just his second as a full-time starter, is now one of the top strike-throwers in the game.
"There's just a different confidence when you develop more and more skill," Lorenzen said last month after his penultimate start with the Tigers. "I know I have developed the skills I need. Cleaning up the command with the slider has been huge."
The Tigers sent Lorenzen to his first All-Star Game, and then to the Phillies in exchange for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee. He's only grown stronger as the season's progressed, touting a 3.01 ERA since May and a 2.51 ERA since the All-Star break. He's pitched at least eight innings in both of his starts with the Phillies, after topping out at seven with the Tigers. He carved up the Nationals with primarily four-seam fastballs, sliders and changeups.
"He made a strong impression here and I think all of us put a little work into making him the best version of himself," said A.J. Hinch. "Tonight's going to be a career highlight for him. Proud of him, and obviously his phone will get flooded tonight by a lot of us."
The Tigers will keep Lorenzen's number handy this winter. He's headed back to free agency, and he had nothing but good things to say about Detroit on his way out of town. He credited Harris and the organization for making good on their promise that "you're going to come here and we're going to make you better." A reunion isn't out of the question, though Lorenzen, who turns 32 in the offseason, will be aiming to parlay his breakout season into a longer-term deal.
Lorenzen, by the way, wasn't the only former Tiger to make history for the Phillies Wednesday night. Nick Castellanos also hit two homers to reach 200 for his career, the first 104 of which came with Detroit.
"Oh my god," Castellanos said, "it was a great game."
"It's unbelievable, to be honest," said Lorenzen, whose mom, wife and nine-month-old daughter were in attendance for his first home start with his new team. "I've always dreamt about being able to throw a no-hitter."
Asked what his late dad would be thinking, Lorenzen fought back tears and said, "Man, I don't know. You got me emotional now. He'd just be saying, 'Atta boy. Way to finish it.'"
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