Inside the Astros

Houston Astros Pitcher Having Historic Start To Season

Ronel Blanco made history (again) in his second start of the season.

Tyler Maher

Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco is having a historic start to the 2024 season.
Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco is having a historic start to the 2024 season. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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On April 1, Houston Astros pitcher shocked the baseball world by throwing the first no-hitter of the new season in just his eighth career start.

All week, baseball fans were waiting to see what he would do for an encore, and he didn't disappoint.

Blanco picked up where he left off during his second start of the season, dominating the Texas Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball. He held the red-hot Rangers hitless for 5 2/3 innings before finally surrendering a hit. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that's the longest hitless streak (14 2/3 innings) by a pitcher to begin a season since MLB's expansion era began in 1961.

Blanco finished Sunday's outing with just one hit and four walks allowed over six scoreless innings, striking out four. He improved to 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA through 15 innings, making him one of the few bright spots for an Astros team that has lost seven of its first 10 games to begin the season.

Blanco's historic start is even more impressive given that he originally wasn't even supposed to be in the rotation. The 30-year-old right-hander only received a rotation spot after injuries forced Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy to the injured list to start the season.

Now, it's fair to wonder where Houston would be without him. Sunday's outing couldn't have come at a better time for the Astros, who'd been shelled for 17 runs and 31 hits in the first two games of their series against the Rangers. Now, they have a chance to emerge with a split if they can take Monday's series finale.

In the meantime, Blanco's no-hitter no longer looks like a fluke, but perhaps the start of a breakout.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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