On This Date in Sports August 15, 1990: Mulholland No Hits Giants
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Terry Mulholland of the Philadelphia Phillies tosses a no-hitter in a 6-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. Mulholland had been prospect with the Giants but was traded in 1989 for Steve Bedrosian. The only blemish was an error by Charlie Hayes in the seventh inning that was erased by a double play. In throwing a no-hitter, Terry Mulholland faced the minimum of 27 batters, striking out eight Giants.
Terry Mulholland was born on March 9, 1963, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He later played baseball at Marietta College in Ohio. An All-American, Mulholland was selected with the 24th overall pick by the San Francisco Giants in the 1984 MLB Draft. Two years later, he made his debut with the Giants. Terry Mulholland struggled in his first season in the majors, posting a 1-7 record with San Francisco, though he had one last moment as he got the ball stuck in his glove and had to throw his glove over to first base in a game against the New York Mets.
Terry Mulholland did not pitch in the majors in 1987 and split 1988 between San Francisco and AAA. He was continuing to ride the shuttle in 1989 until he was a part of a trade. The Giants looking to upgrade their bullpen sent Mulholland along with Dennis Cook and Charlie Hayes to the Philadelphia Phillies for Steve Bedrosian and Rick Parker. The trade would allow Terry Mulholland to start as the Phillies were rebuilding and looking to be patient with young players. In the second half of 1989, Terry Mulholland posted a record of 4-7.
The San Francisco Giants would go to the World Series in 1989 but had a mediocre season in 1990 as they appeared to play with a Fall Classic hangover. Led by Roger Craig, the Giants held a record of 60-55 as they faced the Phillies at Veterans Stadium on a Wednesday night in August. The Phillies were a team in transition as the 1990s began with manager Nick Leava. The team had been remaking their roster and came into the game at Veterans Stadium, holding a record of 54-59.
Entering the game, Terry Mulholland had a record of 6-6 as he prepared to face his former team. It was the fourth time Mulholland faced the Giants, winning two of the first three starts he made. The Giants meanwhile countered with Don Robinson. Mulholland dominated from the start as he had a pair of strikeouts in the first inning. The Phillies meanwhile scored a run in the bottom of the first as John Kruk had a two-out single that scored Darren Daulton.
As Terry Mulholland mowed down the first 18 batters, the Phillies padded their lead as Lenny Dykstra drove in a run with an RBI double and scored on a two-run home run Darren Daulton. The Phillies also got run-scoring hits from Charlie Hayes and Mulholland I the fifth to stretch the lead to 6-0. In the seventh inning, Rick Parker hit a bouncer to the hole that Charlie Hayes fielded, but the throw to first was wide, resulting in an error. The error did not bother Terry Mulholland as he got Dave Anderson to bounce into a double play and ended the seventh getting Will Clark to bounce out to first.
After a perfect eighth, Terry Mulholland got Bill Bathe to ground out to Charlie Hayes at third. Jose Uribe followed with a grounder to short, as Gary Carter came up as pinch hitter with two outs. Carter ripped the ball down the line, but Hayes was there to make the catch to complete the No-Hitter for Terry Mulholland. Mulholland would post a record of 9-10 in 1990 and spent 20 years in the majors, with a lifetime mark of 124-142 spending much of the second half of his career in the bullpen.