‘By God’s Grace’: Phillies Pitcher Michael Lorenzen Celebrates No-Hitter

Published: August 14, 2023

‘By God’s Grace’: Phillies Pitcher Michael Lorenzen Celebrates No-Hitter

By Movieguide® Contributor

The Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen praised God after he made career history in his team’s recent game against the Washington Nationals.

Lorenzen pitched a no-hitter during his second-ever start with the Phillies organization.

“I didn’t strike out the world in this game. When you’re pitching, balls can land in different places. I just had God’s grace today. I definitely have to thank Him for today and give Him all the glory, just to be able to keep me calm and trusting in Him,” Lorenzen told NBC Sports Philadelphia following the game.

“Whatever happened, I was just going to trust in Him, and that’s kind of what I’ve been doing all season — trying to just lean on Him,” the pitcher concluded.

Lorenzen’s no-hitter marked the fourteenth in Phillies history.

“HE DID IT! Michael Lorenzen has thrown the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history,” the Phillies shared on X (formerly Twitter).

HE DID IT!

Michael Lorenzen has thrown the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history! pic.twitter.com/MXnZy6WY48

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 10, 2023

The pitcher has been open about his faith in the past. In 2016, Lorenzen shared his testimony with Renewed Strength Fitness.

“I started smoking weed. The first time I smoked was in eighth grade,” Lorenzen stated. “The first time I got drunk was also in eighth grade. One day, I went on this pier with all of my buddies; we were high, and we went onto the pier to get some food. I was 16 or 17, and this guy was sharing about Jesus. He asked us if he could share something about God with us, and we kind of looked at him and laughed a little bit and said, ‘Sure, go ahead.’”

Even though Lorenzen was high, what the man said about Jesus resonated with him.

“As this guy was sharing, it was unbelievably convicting because he broke down that it was more than just to believe in God, which is what I did,” Lorenzen expressed. “You have to serve and live for God; even the demons believe in God. That was something that hit me harder than anything.”

While his life didn’t change immediately, God began to stir something inside him.

“This guy gave me the Gospel message. It hit me,” he said. “I had to think about everything he said. I think I was the only one who left that place and was really impacted. God had chosen me to be spoken to and I’m forever grateful for that reason that He chose me to speak into my life and change my life. Ever since that day, the seed was planted and I started going to church with my brother, and finally the message made sense to me. It was life. It was truth. I ended up going up and giving my life to the Lord.”

Lorenzen concluded the video by saying, “I want to do exactly what this man did on the pier for me…I want to use baseball to do that for thousands and thousands of people. Ever since then, that was really the turning point of my life.”

Cole Clayborn with Sports Spectrum reported, “Now Lorenzen lives for a greater purpose. His Instagram bio has a reference to Romans 1:16 as it reads that he is ‘unashamed of the Gospel of Christ.’ He also has a ‘116’ tattooon his left forearm, which is an ode to the 116 brand — based on the verse — created by Christian rappers Lecrae, Andy Mineo and others.”

Lorenzen will continue pursuing God and spreading the gospel to his teammates as the Phillies push on toward the end of the season.