It was an ordinary day. Carol and I were watching history being made as the Phillies new pitcher, Michael Lorenzen, walked to the mound to start the ninth inning. The Phillies had just acquired Lorenzen about a week before and he was pitching in just his second game, his first home game, for the Phillies on Wednesday. He didn't impress me when the game first began, but as the game progressed he seemed to gain a bit of momentum he hadn't had when the game began. I yelled to my wife to come and sit down and watch this guy whom neither one of us had ever seen pitch before. Inning after inning he seemed to get stronger until before we knew it, the ninth inning was ready to begin. Then Michael walked to the mound! It was only the second game he had ever pitched for the Phils, and only the first in the city of Philadelphia. The fans were going wild. Michael's mother, wife and child were in the stands watching the game and the cameras were constantly showing the excitement on their faces. The entire stadium was behind him as were my wife and I as we both yelled for him as our two cats ran to hide in the nearest bedroom. Hey, it was only the second start of his career as a Phillie! The cameras panned the Phils dugout as the entire team was standing along the edge of the dugout waiting for the final out. Then it happened...the crowd of 30,406 went nuts! The first batter in the ninth, Washington Nationals Lane Thomas, hit a grounder to open the ninth and was thrown out at first. Then Joey Meneses was caught looking for the second out. And then it happened...Dominic Smith popped up Michael's 124th pitch of the night and the game ended. After 2 hours and 9 minutes, Michael stood on the mound raising his arms in triumph, just before rushing toward the outstretched arms of his catcher, J.T. Realmuto. The rowdy celebration began!! Carol and I were yelling as The Gray Lady and Snickerdoodle headed for cover. Michael's mother, Cheryl, and his wife, Cassi, were crying in the stands as his nine-month-old daughter was being comforted in the arms of his wife. Many fantastic and famous pitchers have stood on the mound in Philadelphia in the past and pitched well. Some of it is skill while some of it is luck, but last evening, Michael Lorenzen had both...and that's all that mattered! He threw the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history. He became the fifth pitcher in major league history, and only the second since 1900, to throw a no-hitter in his home debut with a new team. Think they're gonna love the guy in Philadelphia!! Welcome to Philadelphia...Buddy! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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