July 25th, 2015 may be the last time we see Cole Hamels in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform and if that is in fact the case, it may have also been the best. After nine innings, 29 up and 27 down, Hamels pitched the fourth no-hitter for the Phillies since 2010, the third no-hitter in MLB this season and the first of his nine-year career.

Hamels’ line read as such: 129 pitches, 13 strikeouts, 2 walks, 0 hits, 0 runs.

For the 31-year-old, whose last two starts have been anything but ace-like, this was a return to greatness and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Hamels is on the trade block and one of those teams vying for his services is the Chicago Cubs, the team that was just no-hit for the first time in over 50 years, 7,920 games to be exact. In an incredibly dominant performance, if Hamels did nothing else today, besides of course, etch his name into the history books, he may have just driven up his trade value.

Trade rumors aside for the day though, Hamels’ start was the best of his career. From the get-go, he had all of his pitches working with precision. He recorded a season-high 13 strikeouts, the most ever thrown by a Phillies pitcher in a no-hitter. Additionally, Hamels kept the ball down. It was around the 6th inning that the Phillies announcers mentioned only one of the Cubs balls in play had left the infield and that turned out to be nothing more than a deep, loud out.

Dexter Fowler opened the game for the Cubs as the first batter to reach base. He was also the first batter Hamels faced. After Fowler’s at-bat however, Hamels was absolutely dealing, evident by his season-low, eight three-ball counts and just 16 foul balls. In fact, if not for Fowler, the recipient of both of Hamels walks, he might have been perfect.

Hamels’ no-hitter was uncharacteristic in that he actually got more run support than he needed. The Phillies, who have surprisingly been the best second half team in baseball, recorded 11 hits, at least one by each of the nine guys in the line-up. Eight of those hits were of the extra base variety, including Hamels’ double, his first XBH of the season. It was also of course, one more hit by Hamels than the entire Cubs roster, a nice footnote to the no-hitter.

Of course, like every no-hitter, there was a defining play, in this case two. The first came in the eighth inning on the bat of David Ross. He launched the ball to center field and Odubel Herrera made the diving, no-hit saving catch. Again in the ninth, it came down to Herrera. On the final pitch of the game, rookie Kris Bryant got hold of a pitch that, according to Hamels in his post-game interview with Gregg Murphy, he hung. Herrera seemed to have tripped in center but somehow, someway, when the literal dust of the warning track settled, the ball was safe in Herrera’s glove and Hamels no-hitter was complete.

Behind the plate of course, was Carlos Ruiz, who also made history in catching his fourth no-hitter, a record matched only by Boston Red Sox catcher, Jason Varitek.

For Hamels, this start is career defining as he has now been involved in two of the last five no-hitters in MLB. That of course includes last year when he was one of four pitchers involved in the first combined no-hitter in franchise history, pitching the first six innings before the bullpen took over. Hamels and Roy Halladay, who tossed a hitless playoff start and perfect game both in 2010, are the only Phillies pitchers to be involved in more than one no-hitter. Additionally, Hamels, is also just the fourth pitcher in MLB history to be involved in both a combined and solo effort no-hitter.

So, if this is the last time we’ll see Hamels suiting up for Philadelphia, it certainly will be a game to remember and undoubtedly will go down as the best going away present, Christmas in July present, that any team could give to their homegrown ace.

Marilee Gallagher Having grown up just outside of the city, Marilee Gallagher, a graduate of Chestnut Hill College and aspiring sportscaster, was always a Philadelphia 4-for-4 fan, even if she didn’t know it at the time. By the time she started high school, a love of the local sports scene had developed. This combined with a passion for writing led Marilee to work for the Turner Broadcasting owned Bleacher Report as well as for RantSports as a featured columnist for the Phillies. Marilee is excited to have joined the ‘Cave’ and to begin covering her second favorite local team, the Eagles, for the first time as well as continuing to cover the Phillies minor league pipeline. See author's posts

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