These no-hitters were clinched on walk-offs

Most no-hitters end with a familiar sight, with the pitcher being mobbed by his teammates on the mound in celebration after the final out. But not all no-nos have ended this way.

A select number of no-hitters in AL/NL history have been clinched with the pitcher as a spectator, watching as the offense finishes the feat.

Though it wasn’t an official no-hitter because the game didn’t go at least nine innings, we saw an example of this in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when Puerto Rico tossed eight perfect frames against Israel before scoring in the bottom of the eighth to notch a “walk-off” victory via mercy rule.

Here’s a look at the AL/NL no-hitters that have been clinched in walk-off fashion by the offense.

Henderson Alvarez, Marlins
Sept. 29, 2013, vs. Tigers

Traded to Miami in the 12-player blockbuster between the Marlins and Blue Jays that sent José Reyes, Mark Buehrle and three others to Toronto, Alvarez finished off his first year with the Marlins in style, throwing a no-hitter on the final day of the 2013 regular season. The game was still scoreless when Alvarez completed the top of the ninth inning, but the Marlins loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame and -- with Alvarez standing in the on-deck circle -- walked it off on a two-out wild pitch by Tigers reliever Luke Putkonen.

Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon, Pirates
July 12, 1997, vs. Astros (10 innings)

Cordova, then a 25-year-old pitching in his second MLB season, blanked the Astros over the first nine innings of this July 1997 game, but the Pirates were unable to muster any runs against Houston starter Chris Holt or reliever Billy Wagner. With Cordova having thrown 121 pitches, the Pirates turned to Rincon in the top of the 10th and the left-hander tacked on another hitless frame, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Mark Smith to hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. Smith’s blast clinched the first combined extra-innings no-no in AL/NL history.

Virgil Trucks, Tigers
May 15, 1952, vs. Washington Senators

One of six pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters in the same year, along with Johnny Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds, Nolan Ryan, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer, Trucks tossed his first no-no of the 1952 season in this May game against the Senators, though it took a walk-off solo homer from Vic Wertz with two outs in the ninth inning to clinch the feat. The Tigers also mustered only one run in Trucks’ second no-hitter, which came on Aug. 25 against the Yankees, but they scored in the top of the seventh, giving the right-hander a chance to complete the historic no-no from the mound this time.

Dick Fowler, Philadelphia Athletics
Sept. 9, 1949, vs. St. Louis Browns

Making his first start in nearly three years after serving in the Canadian Army during World War II, Fowler was unhittable against the Browns in Game 2 of a doubleheader -- a mere four days after he surrendered 13 hits over seven innings in a relief appearance vs. the White Sox. The A’s were unable to score against St. Louis starter Ox Miller through eight innings, but Hal Peck led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple and came home on Irv Hall’s single one batter later. With that, Fowler became the first Canadian-born pitcher in AL/NL history to throw a no-hitter.