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The Houston Astros (formerly known as the Houston Colt .45s from 1962–1964) are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Houston, Texas. Formed in 1962, they play in the American League West division (formerly in the National League Central division until 2012). Pitchers for the Astros have thrown seventeen no-hitters in franchise history, the most of all of MLB's expansion teams added since 1961. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings", though one or more batters "may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference". [1] No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form. [2] No perfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been thrown in Astros history. [3] As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game." [1]

Don Nottebart threw the first no-hitter in Astros history on May 17, 1963; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024. Only 1 left-handed starting pitcher (Framber Valdez) has thrown a no-hitter in franchise history. The longest interval between no-hitters was 12 years, 2 months and 10 days from the combined no-hitter led by Roy Oswalt on June 11, 2003, and that thrown by Fiers on August 21, 2015. The shortest interval was just 29 days from the combined no-hitter led by Sanchez on August 3, 2019, and Verlander's no-hitter on September 1. They no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Toronto Blue Jays the most, which occurred twice. There are three no-hitters in which the team allowed at least a run, by Nottebart in 1963, Johnson in 1964 (which was a 9-inning home loss), and Kile in 1993. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was by Wilson (in 1969), who allowed eight. Twelve no-hitters were thrown at home, and five on the road. The Astros have thrown three no-hitters in April, two in May, three in June, one in July, three in August, four in September, and one in November. Of the seventeen no-hitters, four have been won by a score of 2–0, more common than any other result. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter was a 10–0 win by Blanco in 2024. The smallest margin of victory was 2–0 wins by Wilson in 1967, Mike Scott in 1986, Verlander in 2019, and Valdez in 2023.

Jose Altuve holds the modern-day record of most no-hitters participated in with one team at seven.

The umpire is also an integral part of any no-hitter. The task of the umpire in a baseball game is to make any decision “which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out… [the umpire’s judgment on such matters] is final.” [4] Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining the strike zone, which "is defined as that area over homeplate (sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap." [4] These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter. [5] A different umpire presided over each of the franchise’s seventeen no-hitters.

The manager is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager include determining the starting rotation as well as batting order and defensive lineup every game. Nine different managers have involved in the franchise’s seventeen no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Astros history

 ¶  Indicates a perfect game
 §  Indicates game pitched in the postseason
 ^  Team who threw no-hitter lost the game
 £  Pitcher was left-handed
 *  Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
# Date Pitcher Final score Base-
runners 		Opponent Catcher Plate umpire Notes Ref
1 May 17, 1963 Don Nottebart 4–1 4 Philadelphia Phillies John Bateman Ed Vargo
  • First no-hitter in franchise history
  • First Astros no-hitter at home
  • First right-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history
  • First Astros no-hitter while allowing a run
 [6]
2 April 23, 1964 Ken Johnson 0–1^ 4 Cincinnati Reds Jerry Grote Augie Donatelli
  • 9-inning home loss
  • First and so far only pitcher to lose a complete game nine-inning no-hitter
 [7]
3 June 18, 1967 Don Wilson (1) 2–0 3 Atlanta Braves Dave Adlesh Bill Williams
  • Smallest margin of victory in an Astros no-hitter (tie)
  • First no-hitter thrown at the Astrodome
 [8]
4 May 1, 1969 Don Wilson (2) 4–0 8 @ Cincinnati Reds Don Bryant Satch Davidson
  • First Astros no-hitter on the road
  • Most baserunners allowed in an Astros no-hitter
  • Second game of a two-game series, in which both were no-hitters
 [9]
5 July 9, 1976 Larry Dierker 6–0 4 Montreal Expos Ed Herrmann John McSherry [10]
6 April 7, 1979 Ken Forsch 6–0 2 Atlanta Braves Alan Ashby (1) Murray Strey
  • Game 2 of season
  • Bob and Ken Forsch are the only set of brothers to have thrown no-hitters
 [11]
7 September 26, 1981 Nolan Ryan* 5–0 3 Los Angeles Dodgers Alan Ashby (2) Bruce Froemming
  • 5th of 7 no-hitters for Ryan
  • Broke Sandy Koufax's old record of no-hitters
  • The Dodgers would go on to win the 1981 World Series
 [12]
8 September 25, 1986 Mike Scott 2–0 3 San Francisco Giants Alan Ashby (3) Bob Engel
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise’s no-hitter (tie)
  • Houston clinched NL West title
 [13]
9 September 8, 1993 Darryl Kile 7–1 1 New York Mets Scott Servais Ed Montague
  • Final no-hitter thrown at the Astrodome
  • Mets had their only baserunner scored on a wild pitch, but had no other baserunners.
 [14]
10 June 11, 2003 Roy Oswalt (1 IP)
Peter Munro (2.2 IP)
Kirk Saarloos (1.1 IP)
Brad Lidge (2 IP)
Octavio Dotel (1 IP)
Billy Wagner£ (1 IP) 		8–0 6 @ New York Yankees Brad Ausmus Mike Fichter
  • Oswalt left with an injury in the second inning
  • Equal most pitchers to throw a combined no-hitter in MLB history
  • First interleague no-hitter thrown by away team
  • Final no-hitter thrown at the original Yankee Stadium
  • Final no-hitter for the Astros as a National League team
 [15]
11 August 21, 2015 Mike Fiers 3–0 3 Los Angeles Dodgers Jason Castro John Tumpane
  • First no-hitter for the Astros as an American League team
  • Longest interval between no-hitters in franchise history
  • 134 pitches with a swinging strikeout to end the game.
  • Astros acquired Fiers in a trade 23 days earlier making only his third start for the club.
  • Fiers’ first complete game ever; first time pitching in the 9th inning.
  • First no-hitter thrown at Minute Maid Park.
 [16]
12 August 3, 2019 Aaron Sanchez (6 IP)
Will Harris (1 IP)
Joe Biagini (1 IP)
Chris Devenski (1 IP) 		9–0 4 Seattle Mariners Martín Maldonado Jim Wolf
  • Astros acquired Sanchez and Biagini in a trade three days earlier and they were both making their first appearances with the team.
 [17]
13 September 1, 2019 Justin Verlander 2–0 1 @ Toronto Blue Jays Robinson Chirinos Paul Emmel
  • 3rd no-hitter of Justin Verlander's career
  • 2019 is the only season with multiple no-hitters by Astros pitchers
  • The lone Blue Jay to reach base, second basemen Cavan Biggio, is the son of Craig Biggio, who spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Astros and has worked in the team’s front office ever since his retirement as a player
 [18]
14 June 25, 2022 Cristian Javier (7 IP)
Héctor Neris (1 IP)
Ryan Pressly (1 IP) 		3–0 4 @ New York Yankees Martín Maldonado (2) Alex Tosi
  • First no-hitter at the new Yankee Stadium
  • 2nd time Yankees had been no-hit since 1958 (both times were by the Astros)
  • 2nd time Astros have thrown a combined no-hitter against the Yankees (first one was in 2003 at Yankee Stadium I)
 [19]
15 November 2, 2022 Cristian Javier (6 IP)
Bryan Abreu (1 IP)
Rafael Montero (1 IP)
Ryan Pressly (1 IP) 		5–0§ 3 @ Philadelphia Phillies Christian Vázquez Tripp Gibson
  • Game 4 of the 2022 World Series
  • First postseason no-hitter in franchise history
  • 3rd postseason no-hitter in MLB history
  • 2nd no-hitter in World Series history
  • First postseason combined no-hitter in MLB history
  • Latest calendar date of a no-hitter in MLB history
 [20]
16 August 1, 2023 Framber Valdez£ 2–0 1 Cleveland Guardians Martín Maldonado (3) Quinn Wolcott
  • First left-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history
  • Faced the minimum 27 batters, the first Astro to do so in a no-hitter
 [21]
17 April 1, 2024 Ronel Blanco 10–0 2 Toronto Blue Jays Yainer Díaz Charlie Ramos
  • Largest margin of victory in a no-hitter in franchise history.
  • First career no-hitter and complete game for Ronel Blanco
  • Earliest calendar date of a no-hitter in MLB history
  • First career managerial win for manager Joe Espada. Espada is the first manager in MLB history to get his first managerial win via a no-hitter.
 [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Kurkjian, Tim (June 29, 2008). "No-hit win makes no sense, except in baseball". ESPN. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  3. ^ "Houston Astros". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Umpires: Rules of Interest". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  5. ^ Bronson, Eric (2004). Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box, Pgs 98–99. Open Court. ISBN  0-8126-9556-9. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  6. ^ "May 17, 1963 Philadelphia Phillies at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  7. ^ "April 23, 1964 Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  8. ^ "June 18, 1967 Atlanta Braves at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  9. ^ "May 1, 1969 Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  10. ^ "July 9, 1976 Montreal Expos at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  11. ^ "April 7, 1979 Atlanta Braves at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  12. ^ "September 26, 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  13. ^ "September 25, 1986 San Francisco Giants at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  14. ^ "September 8, 1993 New York Mets at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  15. ^ "June 10, 2003 Houston Astros at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  16. ^ "August 21, 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  17. ^ "August 3, 2019 Seattle Martiners at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  18. ^ "September 1, 2019 Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  19. ^ "June 25, 2022 Houston Astros at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "November 2, 2022 Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  21. ^ "August 1, 2023 Cleveland Guardians at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "April 1, 2024 Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
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