Former Angels pitcher gives his ex-club a streak they can be proud of

In the 2021 offseason, the Los Angeles Angels took a shot on Michael Lorenzen, signing him to a one-year deal to join their rotation. The risk they took wasn't bringing Lorenzen the pitcher in, it was making him a starting pitcher that was deemed more risky.

He came up through the minors as a starting pitcher but after his rookie year, he was turned into a reliever. He spent six years as a primary reliever before the Angels gave him a shot as a starting pitcher. Lorenzen responded with a decent year, posting a 4.24 ERA in 18 starts, but he dealt with injuries and the Angels looked to upgrade with Tyler Anderson this past winter.

Lorenzen signed another one-year deal, this time with the Tigers, to be a part of their rotation. He's broken out in a huge way in 2023 and last night was just the cherry on top for him.

Former LA Angels pitcher Michael Lorenzen has historic night in Phillies home debut

Lorenzen spent the first four months of this season as a member of the Tigers and he had a really strong start to his season. It culminated with an all-star appearance, the first of his career, before he was ultimately traded to the Phillies.

Lorenzen went from a Tigers team that struggled to stay in the playoff picture despite playing in the worst division in baseball, to the defending NL Champs right in the thick of a playoff race. His response? Two dominant outings.

The 31-year-old allowed two runs in eight innings pitched in Miami while making his Phillies debut. That felt like it would be one of, if not the best performances he'd have down the stretch. Completing eight innings is hard to top. He did that in his very next start, delivering the 14th no hitter in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history.

Lorenzen completed his masterpiece against the Washington Nationals in his home debut as a Phillie in front of family. He walked four and struck out five while of course, holding the Nationals hitless. He threw a whopping 124 pitches in the victory.

Not only was this historic for the Phillies, it was historic in a bad way for Washington. This marked the first time that the Washington Nationals were no-hit. The Expos had been, but that was back in 1999 when David Cone pitched a perfect game against them. It had been 3,810 games since that franchise was no-hit, and now that they have been, the Angels are the team that has last been no-hit.

The Angels have not been no-hit since September of that same 1999 season when Eric Milton of the Twins shut them down. Of course, they've thrown four since the last time they were no-hit with Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Taylor Cole/Felix Pena, and Reid Detmers completing those masterpieces.

With Lorenzen being a free agent this offseason and pitching as well as he has, who knows, maybe he'll find his way back to Anaheim at some point.