<P> In baseball, a no - hitter (also known as a no - hit game and colloquially as a no - no) is a game in which a team was not able to record a single hit . Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no - hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits . A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no - hitter". This is a rare accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff: only 299 have been thrown in Major League Baseball history since 1876, an average of about two per year . In most cases in MLB, no - hitters are recorded by a single pitcher who throws a complete game; one thrown by two or more pitchers is a combined no - hitter . The most recent no - hitter by a single pitcher was thrown on May 8, 2018 by James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre . The most recent combined no - hitter was thrown on May 4, 2018 by Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia, and Adam Liberatore of the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey . </P> <P> It is possible to reach base without a hit, most commonly by a walk, error, or being hit by a pitch . (Other possibilities include the batter reaching first after a dropped third strike .) A no - hitter in which no batters reach base at all is a perfect game, a much rarer feat . Because batters can reach base by means other than a hit, a pitcher can throw a no - hitter (though not a perfect game) and still give up runs, and even lose the game, although this is extremely uncommon and most no - hitters are also shutouts . One or more runs were given up in 25 recorded no - hitters in MLB history, most recently by Ervin Santana of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 3--1 win against the Cleveland Indians on July 27, 2011 . On two occasions, a team has thrown a nine - inning no - hitter and still lost the game . On a further four occasions, a team has thrown a no - hitter for eight innings in a losing effort, but those four games are not officially recognized as no - hitters by Major League Baseball because the outing lasted fewer than nine innings . It is theoretically possible for opposing pitchers to throw no - hitters in the same game, although this has never happened in the majors . Two pitchers, Fred Toney and Hippo Vaughn, completed nine innings of a game on May 2, 1917 without either giving up a hit or a run; Vaughn gave up two hits and a run in the 10th inning, losing the game to Toney, who completed the extra-inning no - hitter . </P> <P> A no - hitter is defined by Major League Baseball as follows: "An official no - hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings ." This definition was specified by MLB's Committee for Statistical Accuracy in 1991, causing previously recognized no - hitters of fewer than nine innings or where the first hit had been allowed in extra innings to be stricken from the official record books . Games lost by the visiting team in 81⁄2 innings but without allowing any hits do not qualify as no - hitters, as the visiting team has only pitched eight innings . </P>

Difference between no hitter and perfect game in baseball
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