It was an ordinary day. Phils were playing the Mets at Citi Field in New York. And...if you haven't watched or read about the game, just hit the delete button on this story and wait until tomorrow to read my next story. And...why do I say that? Well, my Phils were no-hit! It was the 20th time in franchise history that they didn't get a hit in a professional baseball game! They lost their very first no-hitter in franchise history on September 13, 1883 at Recreation Park in Philadelphia. The guy who threw the no-hitter that fateful day was known as Hugh "One Arm" Daily. Yeah..right! Seems that either a friend shot him in the hand while playing with a loaded musket, or he burned himself while simulating fire on a theater set in Baltimore. Hey...that's what I read so it must have been true..right! Seems that everyone had a wild story or a crazy nickname back then. It was tough watching the game on TV this past Friday evening. Every time one of my Phils came to the plate, I just thought they had to get a hit. It can't go on and on...can it? But, they went down in baseball history swinging and missing or swinging and hitting the ball to an opposing player every time they came to bat. It was the 20th time in their storied history that it happened. The last time they were no-hit was on May 25, 2014 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. That game was pitched by the Dodger's pitcher Josh Beckett. The no-no this past Friday night was thrown at the Phillies by 5 different pitchers; Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz. Hey, I had trouble trying to remember Josh Beckett's name...there is no way I will ever remember the name of 5 different guys. Actually, by the time I will have finished typing this sentence, I will have forgotten all but Tylor's name. And, if I had been Tylor, I would have been awful mad that my coach would take me out of a no-hitter game at the end of the 5th inning! But, that's the way it's done today! Tough for the Phils to take since the previous 8 games they had scored a total of 48 runs! But, it's professional baseball and I guess you have to expect some games when you don't score too may runs or even get too many hits, since you have to play well over 100 games every season. One of the Phillies new players this year, Nick Castellanos, said that the best way to bounce back is to forget it! "You need to have short-term memory. Have a good dinner, enjoy the night in New York and get ready to play tomorrow." Even the Phils manager said, "Tomorrow's a new day." Hey, they know that a no-hitter can happen for or against you at any time, so just forget the past one and hope you are on the other end of the score in the next one. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - The Phils did turn it around by winning last evening!
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