Nine former Brewers who threw no-hitters (just not with the Brewers)

The first version of this story appeared in August of 2018.

Wade Miley's no-hitter with the Cincinnati Reds on May 7 marked already the fourth no-hitter of the 2021 Major League Baseball season... and marked yet another reminder that the Brewers still haven't thrown a no-hitter since Juan Nieves in 1987.

That's the second-longest wait in the big leagues behind Cleveland, which hasn't thrown a no-no since 1981. Cleveland was, however, on the receiving end of Miley's gem; Miley, of course, was a member of the 2018 Brewers team that reached Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers have employed several pitchers who have thrown no-hitters, but those came either before or after their tenure with the club. Here's a look at some players who have accomplished the feat:

Wade Miley (May 7, 2021 with Cincinnati)

Miley had a breakout season with the Brewers in 2018, posting a 2.57 ERA. He might be best known as the guy who started a game in the NLCS and appeared for only one batter as a means of getting the Dodgers to use primarily a right-handed lineup, but he had been a gem all season for the Brewers.

Then, he threw a gem in his second season with the Reds, just two days after John Means of Baltimore also threw a no-hitter. The game was scoreless until the top of the ninth when Cincinnati rallied for three runs to give Miley the support he needed.

Mike Fiers (Aug. 21, 2015, with Houston and May 7, 2019, with Oakland)

The Brewers got a pretty good deal out of the Carlos Gomez/Mike Fiers trade in 2015, when they acquired Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana, Adrian Houser and Josh Hader for two players who were only so-so for the Astros. But Fiers did throw the no-hitter shortly after arriving. He's the only ex-Brewers (or future Brewers) player to throw a no-hitter the same year he played for the Brewers. Then came a real stunner when he managed to throw a second no-no against Oakland, bolstered by a couple amazing defensive plays. Despite coming into the game with an ERA above 6 for the season (and a career mark of 4.11), Fiers goes down in history as a rare player with multiple no-hitters.

Matt Garza (July 26, 2010, with Tampa Bay)

Garza shut down the Tigers on a Monday night in the middle of the season, part of a season in which he won 15 games. Garza went on to spend his final four MLB seasons with the Brewers, 2014-2017, with mixed results. 

Hideo Nomo (September 17, 1996, with Los Angeles Dodgers and April 4, 2001, with Boston)

Here's an interesting case of a player who threw a no-hitter BOTH before and after his time with the Brewers. Nomo was an intriguing pick-up for Milwaukee in 1999 after a memorable start with the Dodgers, where he earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1995 and became the first Japanese major leaguer to permanently relocate to the United States. After a down 1998, he went 12-8 for the Brewers with a 4.54 ERA before moving on to Detroit in 2000 and then Boston in 2001 before returning to LA. His best ERA since his rookie year came in 2003 when he went 16-13 for the Dodgers with a 3.09 mark.

Chris Bosio (April 22, 1993, with Seattle)

Before he became a Brewers villain as a coach with the Chicago Cubs (and now famously fired as a coach with the Tigers), Bosio spent seven seasons with the Brewers and enjoyed a pretty successful run.

But his biggest win came in his first year after he left Milwaukee. He had a career 3.96 ERA and 3.76 mark during his time with the Brewers

Jim Abbott (September 4, 1993, with the New York Yankees)

Abbott's no-no was a significant triumph for a player born without a right hand. The fact he spent 10 years in the big leagues is another triumph, including his final season at age 31 in 1999 with the Brewers.

It was a rough final note, as he went 2-8 with a 6.91 ERA for the Brewers, but it's hard to think of Abbott's career as anything but positive.

Len Barker (May 15, 1981, with Cleveland)

Remember how we said only Cleveland has waited longer than the Brewers? That 1981 game wasn't just a no-no; it was a perfect game, one that featured only 19 balls the entire game from a pitcher who only made one career all-star team.

Barker's career finished in 1987, when he made 11 starts for "Team Streak" in his only season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He posted a 5.36 ERA, trying to work his way back from elbow surgery that had derailed his 1985 season and contributed to his release and absence from the big leagues in 1986.

Jim Colborn (May 14, 1977, with Kansas City)

Colborn was an All-Star for the Brewers in 1973, when he went 20-12 with a 3.18 ERA, and he was a staple in the rotation for five seasons. He won 18 games for the Royals in his first year after leaving the Brewers and also threw the no-no against the Rangers. His catcher that day was his former catcher with the Brewers, Darrell Porter, himself an All-Star in Milwaukee in 1974 (and a three-time All-Star with the Royals).

Clyde Wright (July 3, 1970, with California Angels)

Wright was an All-Star with the Angels in 1970, when he won 22 games and posted a 2.83 ERA -- the first of three seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA. He spent one season in Milwaukee with far less glamorous results in 1974, when he went 9-20 with a 4.42 ERA. Wright pitched nine MLB seasons, and his son, Jaret Wright, himself pitched for a decade in the bigs.

A couple other no-hitter connections (though not necessarily of the complete-game variety:

Zach Davies (June 25, 2021, with Chicago Cubs)

Davies threw the first six innings, and teammates Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel each threw an inning of relief in the combined no-hitter to topple the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0. Each pitcher issued at least one walk and eight total, which surpassed the total of strikeouts (seven) against one of the league's best teams, but hey, it still counts, and it was the seventh no-hitter of the year in MLB.

Wisconsin native Gavin Lux drew two of the walks for the Dodgers. Davies spent five seasons in Milwaukee from 2015-2019.

Carlos Zambrano (Sept. 14, 2008, with Chicago Cubs)

Miller Park had never seen a no-hitter in a game involving the Brewers until Alec Mills threw one against Milwaukee in 2020 ... but the venue had seen a previono-hitter. When a series was relocated by Hurricane Irene from Houston to Milwaukee, the emotive Cubs hurler tossed a no-no in a 5-0 win over the Astros. It was a surreal scene for the fans who were able to attend for discounted prices, many of Chicago allegiance and many simply from the Milwaukee area.

Dave Stewart (June 29, 1990, with Oakland)

Stewart's no-hitter famously came on the same day as another no-no, the one tossed by Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stewart was the pitching coach for an unceremonious moment in Brewers history on the 2002 team that lost a franchise-record 106 games. He resigned from his post midseason.

Rollie Fingers (Sept. 28, 1975, with Oakland)

Five years before he came to Milwaukee, Fingers threw the final two innings of a combined no-hitter as Oakland shut down California, 5-0. Vida Blue threw the first five frames. 

Fingers, of course, became a staple for Milwaukee, earning Cy Young and MVP in 1981 and was part of the 1982 team that ultimately went to the World Series (though Fingers was out with an injury in the postseason).