In danger of falling into a 3-1 World Series hole, the Houston Astros' pitching staff delivered a historic performance on Wednesday.
Four Astros pitchers combined to no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-0 Game 4 victory at Citizens Bank Park.
Cristian Javier started things off by striking out nine and walking two over six innings of work. After Javier was pulled at 97 pitches, Bryan Abreu struck out the side in the seventh. Rafael Montero then nearly matched Abreu's effort in the seventh as he K'd two.
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SIGN UP HERE In the ninth, Ryan Pressly struck out Brandon Marsh before walking Kyle Schwarber. After Rhys Hoskins flew out, Pressly got J.T. Realmuto to ground out to third to complete the no-no and even up the series.
Houston's four pitchers totaled 14 strikeouts, with the only blemishes on their record being the two walks surrendered by Javier (one to Bryce Harper and one to Marsh) and the one walk from Pressly.
Believe it or not, the Astros actually threw a combined no-hitter during the regular season in a game Javier started as well. Javier, Hector Neris and Pressly combined to no-hit the New York Yankees on June 25.
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So, what kind of company did Houston join with its World Series no-no?
How many no-hitters have there been in World Series history?
The Astros recorded just the second no-hitter in World Series history.
The first came all the way back in 1956 via Don Larsen. And Larsen didn't just throw a no-hitter -- the right-hander turned in a perfect game for the Yankees in a Game 5 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Larsen went on to win World Series MVP as the Yankees outlasted the Dodgers in seven games.
Larsen is the only player in MLB history to throw a perfect game in the postseason.
How many no-hitters have there been in MLB postseason history?
Other than Larsen's perfect game and the Astros' combined no-no, there's been one other no-hitter in MLB playoff history -- and it also occurred at Citizens Bank Park.
In his postseason debut, Hall of Famer Roy Halladay no-hit the Cincinnati Reds in the Phillies' Game 1 2010 NLDS win. Halladay threw a perfect game during the 2010 regular season, and the only thing that kept him from doing the same in the playoffs was a fifth-inning walk to Jay Bruce.