Houston Astros Achieve Combined No-Hitter Against Texas Rangers

The Houston Astros secured a significant victory on Monday with a no-hit shutout, marking their fourth consecutive win. The game featured Tatsuya Imai as the starting pitcher, who delivered six innings of no-hit baseball. Following Imai, relievers Steven Okert and Alimber Santa continued to silence the Texas Rangers’ bats.

This victory resulted in a 9-0 win, which is the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball since Shota Imanaga and the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen combined for a 12-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in September 2024. The last complete-game no-hitter was in August 2024 by Blake Snell against the Cincinnati Reds.

Imai’s performance included six innings in the 17th regular-season no-hitter for the Astros, and the fourth instance of a combined effort in Astros history. In the 2022 World Series, Houston pitchers also combined for a no-hitter against Philadelphia.

Reliever Okert completed the seventh inning after Imai faced no hits from 16 consecutive batters. Despite walking three of the first four batters, Okert benefited from a double play in the first inning, which helped him regain control. Santa, making his major league debut, retired all six batters in the eighth and ninth innings. His performance concluded with a strikeout of Brandon Nimmo, confirmed by an ABS challenge.

The Texas Rangers faced a complete no-hitter for the sixth time, with the previous occurrence by Corey Kluber from the New York Yankees on May 19, 2021.

Tatsuya Imai, 28, is in his debut Major League Baseball season after moving from Japan. He joined the Astros in January with a three-year, $54 million contract. Previously, he was a three-time All-Star in Japan’s Pacific League, achieving a 10-5 record with a 1.92 ERA for the Seibu Lions last season.