PHILADELPHIA – Michael Lorenzen will get some extra rest after pushing himself beyond his usual limits while throwing a no-hitter.
The 31-year-old Phillies right-hander threw a career-high 124 pitches in his no-no against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. Lorenzen was making his first home start for Philadelphia, which acquired the All-Star in a trade with Detroit.
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Lorenzen won’t pitch again until Aug. 18 at Washington. Philadelphia has been going with a six-man rotation to reduce starters’ workload, and the club has two days off next week.
Lorenzen said Thursday his arm hurt “10 percent more so” than it would after a normal outing. His previous career high was 107 pitches in 2015, his rookie year.
“Nothing too crazy,” Lorenzen said. “But the eight days (off) will help a little bit. Trying to ease back in a routine before my next start should help.”
The defending NL champion Phillies hold the league’s top wild-card spot. The six-man rotation is temporary, manager Rob Thomson said.
“After we get through the off days, we will probably go back to the five-man rotation,” he said. “We have a lot of off days in there and a lot of guys will get five days’ rest circulating through there.”
Lorenzen was bleary-eyed a day after the best outing of his career. He was awoken at 6:30 a.m. by his 9-month-old daughter, June.
“My eyes are burning,” Lorenzen said. “There wasn’t much sleep. But it’s been fun to be able to reflect and relive it.”
He spent some of the morning responding to congratulatory text messages. Lorenzen’s no-hitter was the 14th in Philadelphia’s 140-year history and the first complete game of his career.
“It was pretty neat and pretty emotional moment for me, my family and this team,” he said.
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