The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 5-0 in Game 4 of the World Series on Wednesday night to beat the series 2-2. They won in historic fashion. Second no-hitter in World Series history.
The 25-year-old right-handed Javier played the first six innings without allowing a hit. From there, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly pitched his last three hitless frames to complete the tender. It was Worlds second no-hitter in his series history, and the first since Don Larsen’s perfect his game with the 1956 Yankees. His one in the 2010 NLDS.
An unforgettable night in South Philly.
Javier had the upper hand
This was not a case of luck-based no-hitters. Javier owned the Philadelphia lineup in Game 4. In that six innings, he had nine strikeouts, two walks, and found 63 of 97 pitches with strikes. He induced his 25th whiff and call his strike. He also did an excellent job of smothering contact from the bat as no Philadelphia hitter managed a batting average expected to exceed . 100 through the sixth inning.
Javier relied heavily on his fastball in Game 4, throwing 4 seamers 72% of the time. That well-established bedrock pitch allowed Javier to throw the Phillies off balance with well-timed sliders. The slider wasn’t Javier’s best swing-and-miss his offering in Game 4, but it all worked.
This + Javier’s ALCS talent vs Yankees = history
In Javier’s final postseason start, he tamed the Yankees by allowing 1 hit and 0 runs in 5 1/3 innings. Unsurprisingly, such unrelenting stinginess has never before been glimpsed when it comes to allowing hits in back-to-back playoff starts.
The Phillies nearly collapsed in the 8th inning
With two outs in the eighth inning, filly Gene Segura flew past Montero’s first-pitch fastball, nearly breaking his promise to Astros history. See here:
It was a well-hit liner to say the least, but unfortunately for Segura and the Phillies, Goldglover’s Kyle Tucker was on the right. At the end of the day, the quality of the ball hit—the launch angle and velocity (99 mph for the Segura)—is almost always the ball.
But it wasn’t Wednesday night in Game 4. That would be Kyle Schwarber’s smashing grounder in the third inning, having just fouled the first base line. Schwalber saw the at-bat and struck out.
there are many coincidences
If you’re looking for multiple examples of symmetry that suggest some kind of grand design, you’ve come to the right place. , just know that this is not the first time the Phillies have gone no-hitter combined.
Who started the Phillies after a no-hitter in the regular season? Game 4 starter Aaron Nola.
Looking back at Halladay’s 2010 no-hitter, the location of that no-hitter was Citizens Bank Park. Halladay’s playoff no-hitter and opponent’s manager, the current Astros manager Dusty Baker.
A big win for the Astros
This no-no occurred in Houston’s biggest game of the season to date. In this best-of-seven series, a loss put him 3–1, and he only had a 17.9% chance of coming back to win the series. Instead, Javier and his company pitched Houston to his 2–2 draw. So basically a best-of-three series, with the Astros hosting Game 6 and a potential Game 7.
