World Series no-hitter! Cristian Javier, Astros silence Phillies for first Fall Classic no-no since 1956
After combined no-hitter vs. Phillies, Astros back in control of World Series
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“My parents told me I was going to throw a no-hitter,” Javier said through an interpreter on after the game.
Purists might be aghast that Javier, who struck out nine and walked two, was not allowed a chance to finish his gem. But doing so was unrealistic: Javier had only thrown more than 97 pitches on four occasions this season, topping out at 115 on June 25.
And what happened that day? Javier and two relievers combined on a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium.
See, the Astros won 106 games this season and Javier’s 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings would have ranked third in the major leagues if he pitched enough innings to qualify. On a club with Justin Verlander set to win his third Cy Young Award this year and lefty Framber Valdez growing renowned for his playoff heroics, Javier, in fact, might be their best pitcher.