Rocket City No-Hits Chattanooga, But Blows 3-0 Lead & Loses 7-5!

“7-5 huh? That seems pretty normal OH GOOD LORD!”

— Causing Chaos on this site is fun (@PeytonSchmidt2) April 9, 2023

On Saturday, April 8, the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Chattanooga Lookouts (AA teams) played their second game of the season . . . and produced a unique linescore:

Lookouts     - 000 000 7 - 7  0  0
Trash Pandas - 000 030 2 - 5  6  1

In baseball, it seems, all things are (eventually) possible.

Rocket City starter Coleman Crow threw six solid innings, walking two and striking out six. Ben Joyce came in for the top of the seventh. His task? Get three outs and nail down his team's 3-0 win . . . and finish the combined no-hitter, if possible. Well, Joyce (with help from Eric Torres) did one of those things – but not the one you'd expect.

Chattanooga trails 0-3.

Ben Joyce (bbbcb) walks.

Allan Cerda (bbbcb) walks, Joyce to second.

Nick Quintana pops out to second (infield fly rule).

Daniel Vellojin (bbbcb) walks, Hinds to third, Cerda to second.

James Free pinch-hits for Quincy McAfee.
Free (css) strikes out swinging.

Jacob Hurtubise (bbbb) walks, Hinds scores (1-3), Cerda to third, Vellojin to second.

Ilvin Fernandez pinch-runs for Vellojin.

Jose Torres (cfb) safe at second on CF error. Cera scores (2-3). Fernandez scores (3-3). Hurtubise scores (4-3).

Eric Torres relieves Joyce.

Noelvi Marte hit by pitch.

Ivan Johnson (c) hit by pitch, Marte to second.

Hinds (scbf) hit by pitch, J. Torres scores (5-3), Marte to third, Johnson to second.

Cerda (bbbb) walks, Marte scores (6-3), Joihnson to third, Hinds to second.

Wild pitch by E. Torres, Johnson scores (7-3), Hinds to third, Cerda to second.

Quintana (cbbbfff) hit by pitch.

Fernandez (ffb) strikes out swinging.

7 runs, 0 hits, 5 walks, 4 hit batsmen, 1 wild pitch, 3 left on base, 14 batters.

          IP  H  R ER BB  K   
Crow     6.0  0  0  0  2  6   79 pitches, 52 strikes (WP)
Joyce    0.2  0  5  1  4  1   27 pitches, 10 strikes
Torres   0.1  0  2  2  1  1   24 pitches, 11 strikes (4 HBP, WP)

According to milb.com's strike zone tracker, only two pitches in the half-inning were incorrectly called, both of them early, before the Lookouts had loaded the bases for the first time.

The Pandas scored twice in the bottom of the seventh and brought the potential winning run to the plate with one out, but the next two batters struck out. The game was only seven innings because it was the first game of a double header. 

Believe it or not, it's not the first time a team has lost a no-hitter and given up seven runs. According to this report: "The only other known occasion came on August 31, 1948, when the Wellsville Red Sox no-hit the Lockport Reds in a 7-3 loss in PONY League play."

I found the linescore of that 1948 game in the Bradford (Penn.) Era. The game went 11 innings! (The PONY League included teams from Pennsylvania, Ontario, and New York. It was a Class D league and existed for 18 years (1939-56).)

Lockport   - 030 000 000 04 - 7  0  4
Wellsville - 100 000 200 00 - 3  9  5
Bell and Scheffel; Blackmore, Clark (11) and Ross.

The Associated Press reported:

The league-leading Lockport Reds of the Class D PONY League went hitless in an 11-inning game with the Wellsville Red Sox last night but won 7-3.

The Reds scored three runs in the third on five walks and an error. The Sox deadlocked the game in the seventh 3-3. In the 11th, the Reds pushed across four more runs on four errors, three walks, a fielder's choice and a hit batsman.

A brief report in The Sporting News included the AP's recap of how the runs scored and added this tidbit: Wellsville pitcher Lou Blackmore "issued 17 bases on balls to ruin his no-hit bid". Thanks to the batteries listed in the linescore, we know Blackmore pitched at least 10 innings, possibly into the 11th!

Back in 2023, Rocket City rebounded and won the nightcap 3-0 (their first win of the season), allowing only one hit, a leadoff double in the second inning. The Pandas also lost a tough one on Opening Night:

Lookouts     - 100 001 000 13 - 6  9  0
Trash Pandas - 000 001 001 10 - 3  6  1

Major league teams have lost a no-hitter six times in AL/NL history.