Corbin Burnes, Brewers throw combined no-hitter against Indians
Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers threw a combined no-hitter on Saturday night in Cleveland, marking just the second no-hitter in franchise history and the ninth this season across Major League Baseball.
Burnes threw 115 pitches and had 14 strikeouts through eight innings on the night, and then closer Josh Hader came in for nine final pitches in the ninth inning to seal the deal for Milwaukee, leading them to a 3-0 win over the Indians.
Josh Hader finishes the combined no-hitter for the Brewers 💪
Corbin Burnes: 8.0 IP, 14 K, 1 BB
(via @BallySportWI)pic.twitter.com/Rdy1GMkbal— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 12, 2021
“I think anyone would want to keep pitching in that situation,” Burnes said, via Bally Sports Wisconsin. "I had to fight pretty hard to go out for the eighth, so I think after the eighth that was a pretty easy one for counts. Obviously the thought is to keep everything healthy and make sure we’re healthy for the end of September and into the postseason … I knew I had no shot for the ninth.”
Though he only had nine pitches, Hader was sweating bullets out on the mound.
"I was nervous," Hader said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak. "I was nervous as heck."
The no-hitter is the first since Diamondbacks rookie Tyler Gilbert had his last month, which snapped a modern-day Major League Baseball record.
The Brewers’ feat marked the 16th combined no-hitter in MLB history, and the first since the Cubs’ since-disassembled bullpen had theirs against the Dodgers in June.
Cleveland has now been on the wrong side of a no-hitter three times this season, which makes them the first team in MLB history to be no-hit that many times in a single year. White Sox starter Carlos Rondon got them first in April, and then Reds pitcher Wade Miley got them again in May.
Burns, 26, is in his fourth season with the Brewers this year and was named to the All-Star team this season for the first time in his career. He had 24 starts and held a 9-4 record with a 3.44 ERA headed into Saturday’s game.