Who threw the most recent no-hitter for every MLB team?

The 2021 season was the year of the no-hitter. Gilbert’s, which came in August, was the eighth no-hitter of that campaign. The third no-hitter in Diamondbacks history, Gilbert paced his team to a 7-0 win over the Padres. Oh, and it was his first MLB start. He was the first pitcher to have a no-hitter in his first start since Bobo Holloman in 1953.

In 1991, Mercker pitched the first six innings of an Atlanta no-hitter. He had been largely a reliever that season. Then, in 1994, Mercker got a chance to handle the nine innings himself. That’s right, Atlanta’s last no-hitter came all the way back in 1994. By the way, shout out to Mercker, who overcame a cerebral hemorrhage later in his career to return to MLB in 2000, and he would pitch in the majors until 2008.

After 30 years without a no-hitter, the Orioles got one in 2021 from Means. He pitched the Orioles to a 6-0 win against the Mariners. In terms of his play, Means arguably earned a perfect game. He faced only 27 batters, but in the third inning catcher Pedro Severino dropped a third strike leading to the game’s only base runner. Yes, that’s how close Means came to a perfect game.

Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter in September of 2007. The next May, Lester threw a no-hitter. This was the only time in MLB history, to date, that the same franchise pitched the last two no-hitters to occur. By the way, when Lester and the Red Sox beat the Royals, Jason Varitek caught his fourth no-hitter. That’s an MLB record.

It’s perhaps not surprising, fitting even, that the most recent MLB no-hitter featured multiple pitchers. On September 4, 2024, the Cubs smashed the Pirates 12-0 and didn’t allow a single hit. Imanaga, who had just come over from Japan, went seven innings, and then Pearson and Hodge closed things out by pitching an inning apiece. By that point, the only thing really on the line was the no-hitter, but those two pulled through.

Watching Rodon’s struggles with the Yankees, one might forget that he used to be an above-average pitcher. In his last season with the White Sox, and his only season with the Giants, he was an all-star. Chicago took down division rivals Cleveland in this game, and if Rodon hadn’t hit a batter with a pitch in the ninth inning, he would have had a perfect game.

Not only was 2021 the year of the no-hitter, it was the year of the no-hitter against Cleveland. Rodon pitched his no-hitter against Cleveland, but so did Miley. He’s the kind of pitcher you like to see have a no-hitter. Miley has been a journeyman mid-rotation arm, but one day he had it all working and he pitched a no-hitter for the Reds.

This was back in 1981, so of course Cleveland had its old, questionable nickname and old, definitely-inappropriate logo. Also, yes, Cleveland hasn’t had a no-hitter in over 40 years, though its World Series drought dwarfs that. However, this was no mere no-hitter. Barker threw a perfect game that day against the Blue Jays.

The Rockies have a single no-hitter in their history, which is perhaps not surprising. Pitching a no-hitter in Coors Field would be immensely difficult to do. Jimenez was an all-star in 2010, the year he threw his no-hitter. He was facing the Braves and, yes, the game was in Atlanta.

Maybe someday Tarik Skubal will throw a no-hitter for the Tigers, or maybe two like Justin Verlander did, but for now, the most recent no-hitter was a combined effort. Manning, a pitching prospect who never quite panned out, made it 6.2 innings against the Blue Jays. Jason Foley then stepped in for 1.1 innings, followed by Alex Lange pitching the final inning on this day in July of 2023

Blanco was one of the more improbable no-hitter pitchers we can recall. He didn’t debut in the majors with the Astros until his age-28 season in 2022, and he did not look good in 2022 or 2023. If not for injuries, he likely wouldn’t have been in the rotation when the 2024 season began. And then, in his first start of the season, he threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays. It felt almost fitting it was on April Fool’s Day. While he didn’t completely fall off, a new ace was not born. Though Blanco finished the season with a 2.80 ERA, he had a 4.15 FIP and the 2025 season began with further indication he will go down as one of those unexpected, semi-obscure no-hitter pitchers.

In Saberhagen’s day wins were still part of the equation for assessing a pitcher, which has left him underrated. He won two Cy Youngs, a World Series MVP, and a Gold Glove! Also, in his final season with the Royals he threw a no-hitter. In August of 1991 he held the White Sox without a hit en route to a 7-0 win for Kansas City. Yes, the Royals have gone a while without a no-hitter.

Things seemed promising for Detmers. He was drafted 10th overall in 2020, debuted in 2021, and then had his proper rookie season in 2022. Early in his rookie season, the Angels beat the Rays 12-0, and Detmers threw a no-hitter. That’s right, he threw a no-hitter as a rookie. Unfortunately, that didn’t prove an omen. Detmers has been a below-average pitcher in MLB and is looking more like a bust than a future frontline starter.

From the “We can’t have nice things” department. Sandy Koufax threw four no-hitters. Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo both wowed with no-hitters for the Dodgers. In 2014, Dodgers icon Clayton Kershaw threw the second-most recent no-hitter in club history. Alas, in 2018 the iconic franchise got another no-hitter, and this one featured four pitchers taking the mound. There is a notable fact about this one, though. The Dodgers and Padres were playing in Monterey, Mexico, making this the first MLB no-hitter in Mexico, and the first at a neutral site.

Journeyman pitcher Volquez had some interesting campaigns. Once with the Reds, in 2008, he was an all-star. He won a World Series with the Royals in 2015. After his time with the Royals, he signed with the Marlins. Facing the Diamondbacks in June 2017, Volquez faced only 27 batters in putting together a no-hitter. Unfortunately, later that year he required Tommy John surgery, and an attempt to stage a comeback with his first team, the Rangers, fell short.

Okay, this is the kind of combo no-hitter we can get behind. One, this was in 2021, and the last time the Brewers had a no-hitter was 1987, when they were an AL team. Two, this combination was a formidable duo. Burnes went eight innings in this September game, and at the end of this season he would win the NL Cy Young. Then, Hader, considered the best reliever in baseball by most at the time, went one inning to close things out.

The only two awards Liriano won in his career were both Comeback Player of the Year, which is to say staying on the mound and pitching well were hard for him. Indeed, when the Twins hurler took the mound on May 3, 2011 he had never pitched a complete game and had an ERA over 9.00 on the season. Then, he pitched a no-hitter against the White Sox, a much-needed one at that. The Twins only won 1-0.

Look, call us killjoys but a no-hitter like this is lame. Five pitchers? Nobody pitching more than five innings? Lugo only pitched two-thirds of an inning! Mets fans probably didn’t care. This 2022 no-hitter was against the team’s number-one rival, the Phillies. Still, we greatly prefer the first no-hitter in franchise history, Johan Santana’s in 2012.

The Yankees are the kings of the perfect game. Four of the 24 perfect games in MLB history have been pitched by Yankees. The most recent of those outings, and the most recent perfect game to be pitched, came from German. Granted, the Oakland Athletics had a punchless offense in 2023, but even so, a perfect game is a special occurrence.

The Athletics call no city home as they await their move to Las Vegas, but for now, we'll take a trip back to the Oakland days. In the rare interleague no-hitter, Fiers fired the Athletics to a win over the Reds. Notably, for a pitcher who is far from a future Hall of Famer, this 2019 no-hitter was the second of his career. However, all things considered, Fiers’ biggest impact on baseball came when he blew the whistle on the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

Talk about delivering the goods early. The Phillies had acquired Lorenzen at the trade deadline in 2023 to bolster the rotation. This was his second start with the team. Lorenzen then went out and pitched a no-hitter against the Nationals. All things considered, that had to make Philadelphia happy about the addition.

The Pirates were early adopters of the combination no-hitter. This game happened in 1997. However, there’s also an asterisk on it. Cordova pitched nine innings, but the game between the Pirates and Astros (then still in the National League) was scoreless. Rincon pitched in the 10th inning and didn’t allow a run, and a walk-off three-run homer gave the Pirates the win and the combined no-hitter.

Making up for lost time in a major way. As noted, the Padres were the last team to have a no-hitter, with Musgrove doing it in 2021. Well, in 2024, the Padres got a second. Cease powered the team to a 3-0 win over the Nationals. In the span of less than half a decade, the Padres went from last in franchise no-hitters to not even being tied for last.

Snell is one of those pitchers that is elite when he’s on and healthy. It’s just that sometimes he struggles with his form, and oftentimes he struggles to stay healthy. Twice he has won the Cy Young, once in the AL with Tampa and once in the NL with San Diego. He signed with the Giants for the 2024 season but, yes, had injury issues. Between April 20 and July 8 he only made three starts. On July 27 he struck out 15 batters in six innings. On August 2 he no-hit the Reds in the Reds’ hitter-friendly ballpark. Like we said, when Snell can take the mound and he’s in form, he’s one of the best to do it.

Oh, Canada. Paxton, who is from British Columbia, was pitching for the Mariners in Toronto in May of 2018. He no-hit the Blue Jays that day. Not only did Paxton become the second-ever Canadian to pitch a no-hitter, but he also became the first Canadian to do it in the Great White North. Poutines all around!

It’s a philosophical question we’d like to run by Smith himself. When no-hitter cynics make the argument that no-hitters can be fluky and aren’t all that special, oftentimes the talking point is, “I mean, Bud Smith did it!” Indeed, Smith debuted with the Cardinals in 2001 and threw a no-hitter against the Padres as a rookie. He pitched his last MLB game in…2002. In total, Smith made only 24 MLB starts and had a 4.95 ERA. He spent more time pitching in independent ball than the majors. He has become the go-to reference for obscure, unremarkable pitchers to throw a no-hitter. So, is it better to be remembered as “Bud Smith, the guy you can’t believe threw a no-hitter,” or to be one of the several pitchers to throw a no-hitter that have been completely forgotten?

The Rays only have one no-hitter in franchise history, which is fair, given that they are one of the two most-recent additions to MLB. Garza had great stuff, but was not always in control of it. One day in 2010, though, he very much was. Both Garza and Tigers starter Max Scherzer had no-hitters going through 5.2 innings. The difference is that Garza’s kept going all the way until the final out.

The all-time leader in no-hitters, Nolan Ryan was a Ranger. Indeed, two of his no-hitters came with the team. However, he doesn’t have the most recent no-hitter in Texas history. That belongs to Rogers. Not only did he throw a no-hitter in 1994, but it was a perfect game at that. By the way, this was the season that got axed by the strike. Fortunately, Rogers was able to get this no-hitter against the California Angels first.

Stieb, a seven-time all-star, is considered one of the best pitchers in Blue Jays history. He came close to an “always a bridesmaid” career when it comes to no-hitters. Four times in a five-season span he went into the ninth inning having not allowed a hit. In all of those instances, he fell short. Then, finally, in 1990 he threw a no-hitter against Cleveland. Unexpectedly, this is the only no-hitter a Blue Jay has thrown.

We end with a “Mad Max” double dip in a way. In June of the 2015 season, Scherzer threw a no-hitter against the Pirates. In fact, he fell one out short of a perfect game. That’s not all, though! That October, in a doubleheader as the regular season closed out, Scherzer threw a no-hitter against the Mets. Yes, Scherzer had two no-hitters in the same season.