Inside The Pinstripes

Astros Throw Combined No-Hitter Against Yankees

Cristian Javier led the way with seven no-hit innings, striking out 13 batters.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — The Yankees have had the best offense in all of baseball this season, routinely pounding opposing pitchers and producing crooked numbers.

Saturday at Yankee Stadium was a different story.

Led by right-hander Cristian Javier, the Astros threw a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in a 3-0 victory. Javier spun seven spectacular frames with 13 strikeouts before relievers Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly kept New York out of the hit column for the final two innings.

Javier was magnificent, mowing down New York's lineup. He had 20 whiffs in the no-hitter, 13 coming on his fastball (a pitch that hovered around 94 mph, touching 96.3 mph). Josh Donaldson was the only Yankee to reach base against him, walking in the first inning before reaching on an error from third baseman Alex Bregman in the seventh.

The right-hander had the stuff to finish a no-hitter all by himself, but his pitch count forced manager Dusty Baker to call to the bullpen after the seventh. Javier's career high in pitches was 107 entering play on Saturday. He threw 115 in seven innings against the Yankees.

In the eighth, New York put two runners on against Neris as both Aaron Hicks and pinch-hitter DJ LeMahieu worked walks. That rally turned out to be nothing more than a threat, though. Joey Gallo flew out to the right-field wall and Aaron Judge ended the inning with a line drive to shortstop Aledmys Diaz.

Pressly made quick work of New York's lineup in the bottom of the ninth. Giancarlo Stanton grounded out to third base to end the game.

For much of the afternoon, Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was just as dominant as Javier. Houston didn't have a hit until the fifth and didn't score a run until the seventh. 

That's when Cole made his biggest mistake of the day, leaving a heater in J.J. Matijevic's wheelhouse on the inside corner. The rookie first baseman capitalized, sending a solo shot high into the second deck in right, flipping his bat as Cole crouched in disbelief on the mound.

Cole finished with seven strong innings of one-run ball, striking out eight with two walks while allowing four hits. He gave his team a chance to win, but the offense was nowhere to be found behind him.

One inning later, with right-hander Michael King on in relief, the Astros added another run of insurance. Jose Altuve silenced the boo birds in the Bronx with a booming solo home run to the second deck down the left-field line.

Houston tacked on one more in the top of the ninth against left-hander Lucas Luetge.

With the Yankees also falling short on Friday against Houston, shut down by Justin Verlander, Saturday's defeat is just the fourth time New York has lost consecutive games this year. They entered play 14-4 after a loss in 2022.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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