Fans are blaming Joe Girardi for losing the no-hitter

Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi pulled Matt Moore in the midst of a no-hitter on Saturday, and MLB Twitter let him hear it.

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped their series opener to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night, but had the opportunity to rebound on Saturday. Starting on the mound for the Phillies was veteran Matt Moore, who carried a 6.30 ERA into the contest. But Moore was on fire against the Reds in the Saturday matinee game.

Moore pitched through six innings, where he had not allowed a single hit while striking out eight batters on 76 pitches. Despite the low pitch count, manager Joe Girardi opted to pull Moore from the game to rely on his relievers to close out the game. Let’s just say that many on MLB Twitter were not fond of this strategy from the former World Series-winning manager.

Phillies: Joe Girardi explains decision to pull Matt Moore in middle of no-hitter

Hector Neris stepped in for Moore in the seventh inning, and got through it unscathed. Neris was replaced in the top of the eighth by Archie Bradley, who surrendered a solo home run to Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson to officially end the no-hitter.

Following the game, Girardi said that he “hated” pulling Moore from his start, but he felt he could not push the veteran pitcher any further. Moore said that he did not try to talk Girardi out of pulling him and that he is “a Phillie before anything else.” You can listen to the full context of Girardi and Moore’s quotes in the videos below, courtesy of Jeff Skversky of 6ABC in Philadelphia.

With the win on Saturday, the Phillies maintain a slight lead over the Atlanta Braves, who are just half a game back of first-place. Philadelphia also has to worry about the New York Mets, who sit in third-place just one game behind them.

While some fans wanted to see Moore potentially throw a no-hitter, the pitcher understood the reasoning from Girardi for getting pulled.