The Milwaukee Brewers have completed a combined no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. After Corbin Burnes pitches eight innings without allowing a hit, Josh Hader comes in to close out the game, giving the Brewers their ninth no-hitter of the 2021 season.
CLEVELAND, OHIO — Corbin Burnes was able to maintain his grip on history during a season that was at times tense.

With reliever Josh Hader, Milwaukee’s ace pitcher combined with the team’s top reliever to pitch baseball’s ninth no-hitter this season, breaking the previous record set in 1884 when pitchers began throwing overhand. The Brewers defeated the Cleveland Indians 3-0 on Saturday night.

Burnes’ no-hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers solidified 2021 as the Season of the No-No, months after Major League Baseball cracked down on pitchers’ use of illicit foreign substances following a rash of early no-hitters. Burnes’ no-hitter was only the second in Brewers history, and it cemented 2021 as the Season of the No-No.

It was “a masterpiece,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said of his team’s performance.

Burnes (10-4) struck out 14 batters in eight innings while throwing a career-high 115 pitches, extending a perfect game into the seventh inning and dominating the Indians, who were no-hit for the third time in 2021, a major league record. All of those victories came while starter Zach Plesac was on the hill.

This time, Cleveland was stymied by Burnes, who has emerged as a Cy Young contender as the Brewers continue to dominate the NL Central, and Hader, one of the game’s best closers. Burnes and Hader combined to throw a combined nine shutout innings.

When faced with that situation, “anyone would want to keep pitching,” Burnes said, “but if there was anyone I’d want out there for the ninth, it would be Josh Hader.” “He was completely unaffected by the situation. The situation was more or less set when he walked in.”

Burnes, a right-handed pitcher, took command right away, striking out 11 of his first 14 batters and retiring the first 18 batters in order. A diving catch by center fielder Lorenzo Cain on Owen Miller’s liner helped the 26-year-old get through the eighth inning after walking Myles Straw to start the inning.

In Cain’s words, “I was definitely on my horse, ready to go take care of that one.” To get everything to work in a no-hitter, you need a little bit of everything.

When Hader entered the game in the ninth inning, the Progressive Field crowd booed him. He was able to get the better of Oscar Mercado, striking him out to begin the inning. Jace Peterson, the first baseman, then dived into foul territory to make a diving catch for the second out.

To end the no-hitter, Hader got Straw to flail at a pitch in the dirt, earning him his 31st save of the season. The Milwaukee Brewers rushed the field after claiming their first victory of the season. They exchanged hugs and high-fives with their teammates.

According to Burnes, “I had to fight pretty hard [with Counsell] to get the eighth to come back out, so I knew I didn’t have a chance for the ninth.”

The previous no-hitter for the Brewers was pitched by Juan Nieves on April 15, 1987, against the Baltimore Orioles.

Burnes has reduced his earned run average to 2.25 and has more than doubled his career high in strikeouts with 210 in 152 innings, a two-year career high. He’s been in a three-way tie for the National League Cy Young Award with Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies and Max Scherzer of the Los Angeles Dodgers. There’s no doubt that this little gem will have an impact on voters.

Despite the fact that Corbin was feeling good after the eighth, Counsell admitted that knowing he would be bringing in Josh Hader to finish the game played a role in his decision.

As a result, the Brewers improved to a franchise-record 33 games above.500 while lowering their magic number to win the National League Central to eight games.

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Tyler Gilbert had thrown the most recent no-hitter in the majors on August 14, and the Chicago Cubs had thrown the only previous combined no-hitter on June 24, both of which came in the same season. The other no-hitters thrown this season were by Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres (on April 9), Carlos Rodon of the Chicago White Sox (on April 14), Wade Miley of the Cincinnati Reds (on May 7), Spencer Turnbull of the Detroit Tigers (on May 18), and Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees (on June 1). (May 19).

The vast majority of those gems were thrown before Major League Baseball cracked down on pitchers’ use of sticky foreign substances in late June.

In Burnes’ opinion, “I don’t think anyone is going to be upset about putting a no-hitter in the record books.”

Miley and Rodon’s no-hitters came against the Indians, as did a seven-inning no-hitter by Tampa Bay on July 7 that was not officially recorded in the Major League Baseball record book. As part of a doubleheader at Atlanta on April 25, Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner also pitched a seven-inning no-hitter in the second game of the doubleheader.

The Brewers completed this piece of baseball history three days after Minnesota rookie Joe Ryan struck out the first 19 batters he faced in a 3-0 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field.

After three no-hitters, Plesac couldn’t seem to wrap his head around being on the losing end. According to Elias, Jim Perry was the only starting pitcher in baseball history to have faced an opponent who had thrown a no-hitter three times in a career before Saturday’s performance.

According to Plesac, “I’m not even sure if that makes any sense to me.” “That is completely insane. I’m not sure if it’s my fault or not.”

DeMarlo Hale, the Indians’ interim manager, didn’t offer any explanations.

His response was, “You deal with it; you get up and play tomorrow.” “The good thing about no-hitters is that they only result in one loss. Regardless of how many times it’s been done, the point is to deal with it, move on, understand the level of competition you’re up against, and then move on. I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you.”

Plesac pitched six innings and allowed three runs, two of which were earned.

The minor leaguer had previously faced Burnes, but Straw admitted that he didn’t stand a chance against him on this late summer evening.

Straw described him as “dominant.” “His name will be mentioned in connection with the Cy Young Award this year, I’m confident of it. All you have to do now is raise your hat, return the next day, and compete again.”