Mulholland 8th to Just Say No : Baseball: Phillie is almost perfect against former Giant teammates, 6-0. It sets a record for most no-hitters in a season.

Terry Mulholland knew he had baseball history as soon as Charlie Hayes caught the ball.

Mulholland pitched the record eighth no-hitter of the season Wednesday night as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-0.

“You can’t realize what went through my mind when he caught that ball,” Mulholland said. “It was such a rush of emotion. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but I knew the significance of that.”

Mulholland knew he had just become an important part of the season of the no-hitter.

The season’s eighth no-hitter surpassed the modern record of seven set in 1908 and tied in 1917. Mulholland’s no-hitter was the first this century by a Phillie pitcher in Philadelphia, and also the first nine-inning no-hitter in the 20 seasons of Veterans Stadium.

Ironically, Hayes’ error in the seventh inning cost Mulholland a shot at a perfect game. Rick Parker led off with a routine grounder that Hayes fielded easily at third, but he made a wide throw to first base. Parker, the only baserunner Mulholland allowed, was then erased on a double play.

“I’m not making excuses, but that throw was not that bad,” Hayes said. “I think he (first baseman John Kruk) stretched a little early. It was not right to him, but I don’t think I deserve an error. What the heck, I’ll take the error.”

Said Kruk: “I think I should have stayed on the bag, but people who saw the replay told me there was no way I could have stayed on.”

Kruk, however, made a brilliant catch of a foul ball in front of the stands for the second out in the eighth inning.

“I was going to catch that one if I had to buy a ticket,” Kruk said. “I shouted the fans off, screaming, ‘I got a play, I got a play.’ ”

Mulholland finished the no-hitter in the ninth by retiring pinch-hitter Bill Bathe and Jose Uribe on grounders and getting pinch-hitter Gary Carter on a hard line drive that Hayes backhanded in fair territory just inside the third-base line.

“I’m just happy to have Charlie over there,” Mulholland said. “He makes those kind of plays.”

Mulholland (7-6) came to the Phillies last season from the Giants in a trade for reliever Steve Bedrosian. He entered Wednesday’s game with a 4.34 earned-run average.

“Our hitters said they couldn’t pick up the ball,” Giant Manager Roger Craig said. “He was in command the whole game. He got better as the game went on, too.”

The only other no-hitter in Veterans Stadium history was by Pascual Perez of Montreal on Sept. 24, 1988, a game shortened to five innings by rain.

“I was getting a little bit of a jelly leg,” Mulholland said. “I didn’t feel comfortable.”

The 1990 no-hit parade started on April 11 when the Angels’ Mark Langston and Mike Witt combined to beat Seattle. Randy Johnson then pitched the first no-hitter in Seattle history, beating Detroit on June 2.

Nolan Ryan pitched his unprecedented sixth no-hitter to beat Oakland on June 11. Oakland’s Dave Stewart and the Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela made baseball history on June 29 by pitching no-hitters on the same day in each league.

Less than 48 hours later, Andy Hawkins of the New York Yankees pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on July 1 but lost, 4-0, at Comiskey Park.

On July 12, Melido Perez of the Chicago White Sox, the brother of Pascual, pitched the record-tying seventh no-hitter of the season, a rain-shortened six-inning victory at Yankee Stadium.

Mulholland, who tossed the seventh no-hitter in Phillie history, came along with Hayes and pitcher Dennis Cook in the trade for Bedrosian on June 18, 1989.

Mulholland struck out eight and walked none in making baseball history against his former team.

“A lot of those guys are good friends of mine,” Mulholland said. “I hope they don’t feel disgraced.”

Mulholland was a compensation pick by the Giants in the June 1984 amateur draft for Detroit’s signing Darrell Evans. He made it to the majors in 1986 and pitched in parts of three seasons for San Francisco.

On Aug. 3 at Veterans Stadium, Pittsburgh’s Doug Drabek pitched 8 2/3 no-hit innings before Sil Campusano singled. Drabek was the fifth pitcher to carry a no-hitter into the ninth inning this season and lose it.

It was the first no-hitter by a Phillie since Rick Wise beat the Reds at Cincinnati 4-0 on June 23, 1971. The last no-hitter against the Giants was by Houston’s Mike Scott on Sept. 25, 1986, clinching the NL West title for the Astros.

After Hayes made a nice stab of Carter’s line drive, Mulholland flipped his glove in the air and was then mobbed by his teammates as the crowd went wild.

His previous career low-hit game was a two-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 19, 1989.

“It’s nice to be able to show them what I can do,” Mulholland said.

“There is a lot of luck involved when you pitch a no-hitter. We hit a lot of balls right on the nose,” Giant first baseman Will Clark said.

The Phillies made it 4-0 in the fifth off loser Don Robinson (8-4) on a one out single by Dickie Thon and Len Dykstra’s double. Darren Daulton then hit his 10th home run of the season.

The Phillies added two runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Hayes and Mulholland.

The loss dropped the Giants 8 1/2 games behind first-place Cincinnati in the NL West.

1990 NO-HITTERS AMERICAN LEAGUE

Pitchers Result Date Mark Langston (7 inn.) California 1 April and Mike Witt (2) Seattle 0 11 Randy Seattle 2 June Johnson Detroit 0 2 Nolan Texas 5 June Ryan Oakland 0 11 Dave Oakland 5 June Stewart Toronto 0 29 Andy N.Y. Yankees 0 July Hawkins* Chicago 4 1 Melido Chicago 8 July Perez (6 innings) N.Y. Yankees 0 12

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Fernando Dodgers 6 June Valenzuela St. Louis 0 29 Terry Philadelphia 6 August Mulholland San Francisco 0 15