No-hitter

In baseball, a no-hitter (also known as a no-hit game and colloquially as a no-no) is a game in which a team was not able to record a single hit. Major League Baseball officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter". This is a rare accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff: only 279 have been thrown in Major League Baseball history since 1875, an average of about two per year. In most cases in MLB, no-hitters are recorded by a single pitcher who throws a complete game. The most recent no-hitter was thrown on September 28, 2012, by Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Most of the time, a no-hitter is also a shutout. However, as it is possible to reach base without a hit (most commonly via a walk, error, or hit batsman), a pitcher can throw a no-hitter and still give up runs, and even lose the game, although this is extremely uncommon. One or more runs were given up in 25 recorded no-hitters in MLB history, most recently by Ervin Santana of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 3–1 win against the Cleveland Indians on July 27, 2011. On two occasions, a team has thrown a nine-inning no-hitter and still lost the game. On a further four occasions, a team has thrown a no-hitter for eight innings in a losing effort, but those four games are not officially recognized as no-hitters by Major League Baseball because the outing lasted fewer than nine innings. It is theoretically possible for opposing pitchers to throw no-hitters in the same game, although this has never happened in the majors.