Bumgarner throws unofficial no-hitter vs. Braves in 7-inning game

Madison Bumgarner no-hit the Atlanta Braves but don't go looking for it in the record books.

The Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander threw a seven-inning no-no at Truist Park on Sunday. Bumgarner struck out seven and faced the minimum, allowing only one baserunner on an error that was quickly erased via a double play in Arizona's 7-0 win.

Major League Baseball's record books only count no-hitters thrown in nine-inning games. Bumgarner's feat came in the second contest of a doubleheader and was seven innings long, so it's considered an unofficial no-hitter. All doubleheader games in 2021 are being shortened to seven innings due to COVID-19.

In 1991, MLB ruled that no-hitters in games shorter than nine innings, or those broken up in extras, would no longer be considered official.

While unofficial, his seven-inning no-hitter is still a memorable and unique moment. It's the 38th time in MLB history that a pitcher has thrown a no-hitter in an official game that was shorter than nine innings, according to NoNoHitters.com. Before Sunday, the last to do it was Devern Hansack, who tossed a rain-shortened five-inning no-no on Oct. 1, 2006, for the Boston Red Sox. Bumgarner's also the first pitcher to throw a seven-inning no-hitter since the San Francisco Giants' Sam "Toothpick" Jones in 1959, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Bumgarner and Zac Gallen, who started and completed the first game of the doubleheader for the Diamondbacks, combined to allow one hit over the 14 total innings in Sunday's doubleheader. That's the fewest total hits ever allowed across a doubleheader, per ESPN. Additionally, they're the first teammates to throw complete-game shutouts in both ends of a doubleheader since 1977, according to The Associated Press.

For the 31-year-old southpaw, Sunday marked his 16th career complete game and first shutout since 2016. He now owns a 6.31 ERA through five starts this season.

The D-Backs have thrown two official no-hitters: Randy Johnson's perfect game in 2004 and Edwin Jackson in 2010. Atlanta was last officially no-hit by four Phillies pitchers in 2014.