If a no-hitter takes more than one pitcher to complete, does a tree fall in the forest?
That might not be how the actual expression goes, but the topic of combined vs. solo no-hitters was much-discussed Wednesday night following the Astros’ combined no-no against the Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series. Houston used four pitchers to finish the job, leaning on Cristian Javier’s stellar six-inning, nine-strikeout effort.
The Astros went on to win, 5-0, to even the series at two games apiece.
After Javier was pulled with 97 pitches thrown, manager Dusty Baker leaned on Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly, who each worked one inning. The trio combined for five strikeouts in 10 batters faced. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was the last chance for the Phillies, but he grounded out to Astros third baseman Alex Bregman to end it.
It was just the second no-hitter in World Series history and the third all-time in the postseason. The first was Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 Fall Classic. The second playoff no-hitter also took place in Philadelphia, with Roy Halladay no-hitting the Reds in Game 1 of the NLDS.
Unsurprisingly, the baseball world had plenty to say after the historic performance by the Astros’ pitching staff. Here are some of the best of the bunch from social media.
