0 Runs , 0 Hits , 1 Hero: Kevin Millwood unhittable on unforgettable day
Kevin Millwood kept trying to talk to his teammates. They wanted nothing to do with him.
Originally published on Monday, Apr 28, 2003.
Kevin Millwood kept trying to talk to his teammates. They wanted nothing to do with him.
No way was one of them going to be blamed for jinxing one of the most memorable days in Phillies history and a scrapbook moment in Millwood's career.
For nine innings yesterday, the ace righthander hurled fastballs over the plate and recorded his first career no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
With each strike, the 40,016 people in Veterans Stadium roared, and the red-bearded pitcher maintained his steely gaze and unshakable focus.
"It's a little hard to put into words," said Millwood, 28, who threw a one-hit shutout against Pittsburgh with Atlanta in 1998. "Every starting pitcher, it's the goal to do it once. "
The complete-game no-hitter was the first pitched by a Phillie since Tommy Greene did it in Montreal in 1991, and only the ninth ever by a Phillie. It was just the second time a no-hitter was thrown in Veterans Stadium; Terry Mulholland threw one against the Giants in 1990.
It was the first no-hitter in the majors since exactly a year ago, when Boston's Derek Lowe threw one against Tampa Bay.
"That was unbelievable," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said of Millwood's performance. "As a manager, that's the best [I've seen]. One in October would be better. "
Millwood (4-1) has proved to be the ace pitcher the Phillies were searching for when they traded backup catcher Johnny Estrada to the Braves on Dec. 20 for Millwood.
Yesterday, his numbers were staggering.
Millwood struck out 10 and walked just three of the 29 batters he faced. Out of 108 pitches, 72 were strikes, and most of them were fastballs.
Even in the final inning, his pitches were still clocking in the 90s.
In the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Millwood showed his first signs of nerves when he threw a high ball and walked Ray Durham. But Marquis Grissom then connected with a 1-1 pitch, and Ricky Ledee caught the ball in center field to end the game and begin the party.
Millwood was quickly lost in a swarm of red pinstripes as his teammates, led by first baseman Jim Thome, mobbed him on the mound. In the stands, members of the "Millwood Militia" fan club had their T-shirts off and whirling above their heads. The crowd, who also celebrated the Phillie Phanatic's 25th birthday, littered the outfield with bottles and cups in celebration and demanded a curtain call.
"I saw Thome running toward me, and that made me a little nervous," said Millwood, who tossed out nearly as many one-liners at the postgame news conferences as strikes in the game. "This was like the playoffs, the World Series. "
The sun sparkled on the scene as Millwood reemerged from the dugout and again ignited a frenzy of applause.
In the locker room afterward, Pat Burrell flung both arms around Millwood's dependable shoulders and declared: "I love you, man. "
"It was trippy," said Burrell, who with admiration calls Millwood "Horse. "
"I've never been a part of that," Burrell said. "It was special. It was special for everyone. "
Millwood's no-hitter was not just a notch in his career statistics. It was a necessity, too.
The hot pitcher had little support from his teammates' cold bats. Jimmy Rollins, Ledee and Bobby Abreu had the Phillies' four hits yesterday. Ledee's solo home run in the first inning accounted for the game's only score.
A running catch in the seventh inning by the centerfielder helped preserve the no-hitter, too.
Because of all that, Millwood promised Ledee a beer on his tab during the long plane ride last night to Los Angeles, where the Phillies start a 10-game road trip with the energy of a rock concert.
Starter Jesse Foppert (0-2) took the loss for the Giants.
"I knew we wouldn't get that insurance run; that'd make it too easy," Bowa joked.
"Every inning, we were hoping we'd score one more," catcher Mike Lieberthal said. "When it's 1-0, there's more pressure. "
Millwood felt it but didn't bend under it.
With every strikeout, the crowd grew more animated and Millwood grew more anxious.
Around the fifth inning, fewer and fewer of his teammates talked to him or sat near him - baseball superstition says interaction can interfere with a hot pitcher's mojo.
By the seventh inning, the dugout was eerily quiet.
"I tried not to say anything to him," Lieberthal said.
Millwood finally found an ear on - of all people - hitting coach Greg Gross in the ninth inning.
"I kept trying to talk to him. I'd say stuff just to get him to talk to me," Millwood said. "About the fifth inning, more and more guys don't want to talk to you. "
As usual, the always-prepared Millwood arrived early at the ballpark for the 1:35 p.m. game. He looked over scouting reports, chatted with teammates, and ate breakfast.
It was also discovered yesterday that Millwood likes his eggs over-easy, his batters fried.
Millwood suspected he had reached the top of the mountain when he struck out slugger Barry Bonds in the seventh inning.
Bonds walked back to his dugout, staring accusingly at his bat.
"I tried not to think about it," Millwood said of his anxiety as the game progressed. "Once I got by Bonds, I knew I had a real shot. It was probably as nervous as I've ever been. The fans were great. Once I got two strikes, I couldn't hear myself think. "
After the game, the most popular player in the clubhouse finally had plenty of people willing to listen to him talk.
Contact staff writer Shannon Ryan at 610-313-8097 or sryan@phillynews.com.
No Wood on Millwood
First
Durham walked.
Durham was caught stealing.
Grissom struck out.
Aurilia flied out.
Second
Bonds popped out.
Cruz Jr. struck out.
Snow struck out.
Third
Torrealba lined out.
Feliz struck out.
Foppert struck out.
Fourth
Durham struck out.
Grissom flied out.
Aurilia walked.
Bonds flied out.
Fifth
Cruz grounded out.
Snow flied out.
Torrealba grounded out.
Sixth
Feliz struck out.
Foppert flied out.
Durham struck out.
Seventh
Grissom flied out.
Aurilia struck out.
Bonds struck out.
Eighth
Cruz flied out.
Snow flied out.
Torrealba flied out.
Ninth
Perez grounded out.
Benard grounded out.
Durham walked.
Grissom flied out.
* 108 pitches * 29 batters faced * 12 flyouts * 10 strikeouts * 4 groundouts * 1 caught stealing * 3 walks
No-Hitters By Phillies (9)
Date Pitcher Opponent Score
Aug. 29, 1885 Charlie Ferguson vs. Providence 1-0
July 8, 1898 Red Donahue vs. Boston 5-0
Sept. 18, 1903 Charles Fraser at Chicago 10-0
May 1, 1906 Johnny Lush at Brooklyn 6-0
*June 21, 1964 Jim Bunning at New York 6-0
June 23, 1971 Rick Wise at Cincinnati 4-0
Aug. 15, 1990 Terry Mulholland vs. San Francisco 6-0
May 23, 1991 Tommy Greene at Montreal 2-0
April 27, 2003 Kevin Millwood vs. San Francisco 1-0
* Perfect Game