The Rocket City Trash Pandas threw a no-hitter and lost.
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MLB

'No-Winner': Minor League Team Throws No-Hitter But Loses in Bizarre Sequence

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There have been more than 300 no-hitters in Major League Baseball history. Since 2020, more than 90 have occurred in minor league baseball.

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But like those in the majors, every no-hitter is different, and none are perfect. Otherwise, they'd be perfect games.

Edwin Jackson once threw a no-hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks while walking eight and hitting a batter. However, the Diamondbacks won that game against the Tampa Bay Rays, 1-0. After all, it's a no-hitter — the other team didn't get a single hit, so how could it win?

Well, never assume that a team is guaranteed to win just because it pitches a no-hitter.

The Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate for the Los Angeles Angels, proved that point when they threw a no-no and lost on Saturday in one of the more bizarre minor league games you'll see. You might call this one a "no-winner."

Trash Pandas Throw No-Hitter, Lose 7-5

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Up 3-0 in the top of the seventh inning against the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Trash Pandas managed to allow the following over the first five batters:

  • Walk
  • Walk
  • Pop out (one out)
  • Walk
  • Strikeout (two outs)

OK, so remember, the team was up 3-0. It's the top of the seventh. The no-hitter is still intact. There are two outs — but, yeah, the bases are loaded.

Here's what happened next, a meltdown of epic proportions:

  • Walk (score is now 3-1)
  • Error by center fielder Jeremiah Jackson, with three runs scoring (down 4-3; one runner left on second)
  • Hit by pitch
  • Hit by pitch (bases loaded)
  • Hit by pitch (down 5-3; bases still loaded)
  • Walk (down 6-3; bases still loaded)
  • Wild pitch (runner scores from third; down 7-3)
  • Hit by pitch
  • Strikeout

Oh. My. Goodness. Five walks and four hit batters in one inning. Plus everything else in between. And still no hits.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Trash Pandas managed to get the bases loaded with one out. Edgar Quero hit a single, driving in two runs, but the team was still down 7-5.

After this, Jeremiah Jackson (yes, the guy with the fielding error that allowed multiple runs to score) and Tucker Flint both struck out swinging and the game ended (Double-A games in a doubleheader are seven innings long).

Although it was in the minor leagues, this no-hitter was similar to one that happened in the July 1, 1990, victory by the Chicago White Sox over the New York Yankees. The Sox won 4-0, scoring all four runs in the eighth inning but never recording a hit. The Yankees in that game had only three errors and four hits.

To get an idea of how truly rare the Trash Pandas' loss was, we need to dust off the MLB history books. In all of MLB history, there have been six times a pitcher or team have allowed zero hits and lost. The most recent was a Cincinnati Reds' 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022. The other unlucky teams? The Angels in 2008, Red Sox in 1992, Yankees in 1990, Orioles in 1967, and the Houston Colt .45s (now known as the Astros) in 1964.

That's it.

Again, of course, the minor leagues have varying levels of skill, especially in Double-A. But to lose 7-5 after being up 3-0 with two outs on the board is a meltdown unlike any we may see for some time, regardless of the minor league team or level.

But hey, at least the Trash Pandas won the next game by throwing a one-hitter.

MORE: Anthony Rendon's Fan Altercation is Just Another Reason He Isn't Worth Angels' Money

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