Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai and relievers Steven Okert and Alimber Santa combined to throw a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Rangers on Monday night.
have pitched several combined no-hitters -- even one in the World Series. This latest gem, however, might have been the biggest surprise.made his major league debut and fired two perfect innings to complete the Astros' 17th regular-season no-hitter -- four of them combined efforts -- in a "The first inning, you never thought that this was going to be the outcome of the game," Houston manager Joe Espada said.
"Imai, he continued to compete. "He continued to pound the zone, he fought through it. Six strong innings, and then the rest is history.
"The 630 days between no-hitters was the longest drought across MLB since 2004 to 2006 . The 23-year-old Santa became the first pitcher since 1900 to participate in a no-hitter during his big league debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"Yeah, there was some adrenaline," Santa said through an interpreter. "I was aware of the no-hitter, but I was just trying to calm myself down from the bullpen. "on April 1, 2024, which also marked Espada's first win as manager.
In fact, Houston has authored three of the past seven and five of the past 11 major league no-hitters -- including one in the 2022 World Series when four pitchers combined against the Okert worked the seventh after Imai got 16 outs over the last 16 batters he faced. Imai benefited from a double play in the first then settled into a groove after issuing his third walk.
"During pregame, our focus was attacking the zone," Imai said through an interpreter. "But in the first inning, I felt unbalanced, the timing was off. But after that inning, I was able to adjust the timing, all the rhythm and stuff.
" Santa entered in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced. His 24th pitch was a called third strike against, ending the game with his first career strikeout. That was confirmed after an automated ball-strike system challenge by Nimmo of the final pitch.
"I wasn't sure," Santa said. But Vázquez was already on the mound telling him, "'Hey, stud, that's a strike.
'" Texas was held without a hit for the sixth time -- and for a third time at home since moving into Globe Life Field in 2020. The previous one was These Rangers, hitting .232 with 201 runs through 53 games, have two of their best players on the injured list in two-time World Series MVP shortstop"When you get no-hit, it's a team thing," first-year Texas manager Skip Schumaker said.
"It's not just the players who feel it; all of us feel it. "I have to find different ways to message on the offensive side to get this team going, to get this offense going. "The 28-year-old Imai, who said his only previous no-hitter came in middle school, is in his first big league season after coming over from Japan. He was 1-2 with an 8.31 ERA in his first five starts for Houston.
Imai agreed in January to a three-year, $54 million contract. He was a three-time All-Star during eight seasons in Japan and went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last season for the Pacific League's Seibu Lions. Okert walked Nimmo leading off the seventh before retiring the next three batters. What you need to know ahead of Tuesday's runoff election
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