Astros pitching staff record first no-hitter in two years

Tatsuya Imai (Google Images)

For the first time in two seasons, there was a no-hitter in Major League Baseball. On Monday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, three pitchers combined for a no-hitter in a dominant 9-0 Houston Astros win over the Texas Rangers.

The Astros pitchers who combined for the no-no were Tatsuya Imai of Kanuma, Japan, Steven Okert of Riverside, California, and Alimber Santa of Azua, Dominican Republic. Imai, Overt and Santa combined for 136 pitches of which 81 pitches were strikes. They combined for four strikeouts and five walks.

The fact that Imai was the winning pitcher in the no-hitter was noteworthy when you consider he was having a terrible season. After his first five outings during his rookie season, Imai had an earned run average of 8.31 and had given up 16 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings pitched. Meanwhile, Santa was making his Major League Baseball debut, and got the final six outs to record the no-hitter.

The last no-hitter was on September 4, 2024. Three Chicago Cubs combined to blank the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-0.

This was Imai’s second Major League Baseball victory. The first also came in an Astros shutout win during an 11-0 Houston romp over the Athletics on April 4.

Despite being seven games below the .500 mark, the Astros are actually still in contention in the very weak American League West. At 24 wins and 31 losses, Houston is only three and a half games back of the Athletics, who lead the AL West at 27 wins and 27 losses.

The American League West is the only division in Major League Baseball where there are no teams above .500. That is in direct contrast to the National League Central, where all five teams are above .500.