<P> If the home team leads after the top of the ninth, they do not bat in the bottom of the ninth, thus the visiting team only pitches 8 innings . Since it is possible to score runs without getting hits, a visiting team can complete a full game without allowing a hit but not be credited with an official no - hitter . This has happened four times in MLB history: Silver King (1890), Andy Hawkins (1990), and Matt Young (1992) pitched complete games without allowing a hit, but pitched only 8 innings as the losing pitcher from the visiting team, and thus are not credited with a no - hitter . On June 28, 2008, Jered Weaver and José Arredondo of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim threw 8 no - hit innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, but lost the game, 1--0, and are not credited with a no - hitter . This is the first near no - hitter of this kind in which more than one pitcher was involved . </P> <P> A game that is a no - hitter through nine innings may be lost in extra innings . Under current rules, such a game is not considered an official no - hitter because the pitcher did not keep the opponent hitless for the entire course of the game . </P> <P> On May 2, 1917, a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds reached the end of nine innings in a hitless scoreless tie, the only time in baseball history that neither team has had a hit in regulation . Both Hippo Vaughn of the Cubs and Fred Toney of the Reds continued pitching into the tenth inning . Vaughn lost his no - hitter in the top of the tenth, as the Reds got two hits and scored the winning run . Toney retired the side in the bottom of the tenth and recorded a ten - inning no - hitter . This game was long considered a "double no - hitter", but Vaughn is no longer credited with a no - hitter under the current rules . </P> <P> Of the thirteen potential no - hitters that have been lost in extra innings, two were perfect games until the inning when the first hit was surrendered . On May 26, 1959, Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched a remarkable twelve perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves before losing the perfect game on an error and then the no - hitter and the game in the thirteenth inning . On June 3, 1995, Pedro Martínez of the Montreal Expos pitched nine perfect innings against the San Diego Padres before giving up a hit in the tenth and exiting the game, which the Expos then won, 1--0 . </P>

Average number of pitches in a no hitter