It’s one of those debates you see at the edges of baseball: does a combined no-hitter REALLY count as a no-hitter?
You can figure it will be debated in the coming days after four Houston Astros pitchers – Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly – combined to no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Four of the World Series. It is just the second no-hitter in World Series history, next to Don Larsen’s 1956 perfect game.
The 5-0 win tied the series at two games apiece, and marked a stark turn from the night before when the Phillies bats thumped the Astros, and the pitchers shut the Astros out.
A historic turn, even:
Starter Cristian Javier went six no-hit innings, the longest such World Series attempt since Jerry Koosman in 1969. And since Javier was removed before he lost the no-hitter, he is actually the only pitcher besides Larsen who had a hitless start in a World Series game of at least six innings.
The Astros are up to 11 straight hitless innings, and according to Elias, that ties the 1939 Yankees for the World Series record. So if they throw a hitless inning to open Game Five, the record will be theirs.
For the Phillies, it was their first home loss this postseason, and leaves them in a spot where they need to win tonight’s Game Five to make sure they don’t have to sweep in Houston. Tonight’s game at 7:03pm CT will see Justin Verlander facing Noah Syndergaard. How happy is Syndergaard that he got traded by the Angels at the deadline, eh?
Full Game Four highlights: