Javier (r) poses with Pressly, Maldonado, Neris
(c) Associated Press
Javier (r) poses with Pressly, Maldonado, Neris
(c) Associated Press
When they say a pitcher is "unhittable", they rarely mean as literally as righthander Cristian Javier was against the New York Yankees on June 25th, 2022. The Dominican breezed through seven innings pitched, fanning 13 batters. He walked just one.
Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly finished off the 3-0 no-hit gem, although Neris walked two batters in the eighth. This was the 14th no-hitter in franchise history, the most of any team since Houston entered the majors in 1962.
The Yankees began the season with a blistering hot pace, drawing comparisons to the 1927 Yanks and others who were the best of all time. With sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton leading the way, this looked like the club that would break their drought, having not won a World Series since 2009. Entering the game, they were 51-20, a .718 winning percentage.
Houston, meanwhile, started their season slowly but had picked up steam in May. Entering this contest, the Astros were 44-26 (.629). In this heavily-anticipated four-game series, the two clubs split the first two games before this Saturday afternoon match in front of over 45,000 fans.
Javier and former Houston star Gerrit Cole were in a scoreless duel for the first six frames. With two away in the seventh, reserve first baseman J.J. Matijevic drilled a pitch into the second deck in right field for the game's first tally. That was, more or less, the end of Cole's afternoon.
Javier finished his day with three strikeouts wrapped around an error at third. Houston expanded their lead to 2-0 in the eighth when Jose Altuve blasted a solo homer to left against Michael King. The Astros got a final run in the ninth on a walk, a double and an RBI single from Yuli Gurriel.
Ryan Pressly, the team's closer, was brought in to close out history. He struck out Anthony Rizzo and Josh Donaldson before Stanton bounced out to Alex Bregman at third. Shades of 2003, the Astros had used multiple arms to no-hit the Bronx Bombers on their own home turf. The win became a preview of postseason events.
Javier leads Houston's 'shocking' combined no-hitter vs. Yanks
by Brian McTaggart, MLB.com
NEW YORK - A sellout crowd swarmed Yankee Stadium on a sunny Saturday afternoon hoping perhaps to see a no-hitter, which is always a chance with ace Gerrit Cole on the mound. They instead witnessed the coming-out party of Astros pitcher Cristian Javier, who outshone Cole and the Yankees and helped make history in the process.
Javier, who signed for $10,000 as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, combined with relievers Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly to upstage the Yankees' $324 million starter by throwing a combined no-hitter in Houston's scintillating 3-0 win in the Bronx.
"A no-hitter is pretty special either way, anywhere you do it," Pressly said. "The fact that it was here in Yankee Stadium, that's a really good lineup over there. Those are some good hitters. It's special, but I think if you throw a no-hitter, in general, it's going to be special."
Javier, behind a deceptive fastball that averaged 94.6 mph and was located extremely well, threw seven no-hit innings before Neris worked around two walks and some close calls in the eighth, then Pressly - who blew the save in Thursday's loss in New York - rebounded with a 1-2-3 ninth. Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton made the final out, grounding to third base to spark a celebration on the diamond.
Javier struck out a career-high 13 batters, throwing a career-high 115 pitches (71 strikes) in the process. That's the most strikeouts by a Houston starter since Cole struck out 14 batters on Sept. 24, 2019.
"The whole thing of pitching is about control, control, control," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "Everybody talks about velocity all the time, but velocity without command and control is no good. He was getting ahead of some real good hitters over there. That's a day he'll never forget, and us either."
Javier has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen the last two years, but the Astros believe his future is as a starter. His performance on a big stage against the Yankees has helped bolster his status.
"I was just trying to stay calm," said Javier, whose calm demeanor has earned him the nickname "El Reptile" from his teammates.
Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, who earlier this month caught two immaculate innings in the same game, said Javier's calmness means he's never rattled.
"He doesn't show any emotions, no matter how big the stage - playoffs, World Series," he said. "The guy's the same. He can give up five [runs], he can throw a no-hitter - he's still the same guy. Was I surprised he did it? No, just because I know how good he is."
Neris compared Javier to teammate Justin Verlander and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.
"He's a young guy, but he can be in the game for a long time," Neris said.
The mighty Yankees, the team with the best record in baseball behind a vaunted offense that leads the Major Leagues in runs scored, home runs and OPS, have been held to one run in consecutive losses to Houston.
It's the first time the Yankees have been no-hit since six Astros pitchers combined to no-hit them on June 11, 2003, at the old Yankee Stadium. Those are the only two no-hitters thrown against the Yankees since 1958. The Astros are no strangers to celebrating at Yankee Stadium, having beaten the Yankees in the 2015 AL Wild Card Game and eliminating them in the ALCS in both 2017 and 2019.
 Martin Maldonado visits the mound (c) Associated Press |
 Javier reacts to a strikeout. (c) Getty Images |
 Javier delivers a pitch. (c) New York Post |
 J.J. Matijevic breaks tie. (c) USA Today |
 Ryan Pressly closes out the win. (c) Associated Press |
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Houston Astros 3, New York Yankees 0 Game Played on Saturday, June 25, 2022 (D) at Yankee Stadium II HOU A 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 - 3 8 1 NY A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 BATTING Houston Astros AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Altuve 2b 3 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 Brantley dh 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Bregman 3b 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Alvarez lf 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 Tucker rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 A. Diaz ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 Matijevic 1b 3 1 1 1 0 1 3 1 Gurriel ph,1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 Meyers cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 Maldonado c 4 0 1 0 0 3 15 0 Javier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Neris p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pressly p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 33 3 8 3 5 10 27 3 FIELDING - E: Bregman (4). BATTING - 2B: A. Diaz (2,off Luetge). HR: Matijevic (2,7th inning off Cole 0 on 2 out); Altuve (14,8th inning off King 0 on 1 out). GDP: Bregman (6,off Cole). Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING - SB: Tucker (13,2nd base off Cole/Trevino). New York Yankees AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Judge cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 1 Rizzo 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 Donaldson 3b 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 Stanton dh 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Torres 2b,ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 Hicks lf 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 Trevino c 2 0 0 0 0 1 9 0 Carpenter ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Higashioka c 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 M. Gonzalez ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 LeMahieu ph,2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Gallo rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Cole p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 King p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Luetge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 28 0 0 0 3 15 27 11 FIELDING - DP: 1. M. Gonzalez-Torres-Rizzo. BATTING - Team LOB: 4. PITCHING Houston Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP Javier W(5-3) 7 0 0 0 1 13 0 23 Neris 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 Pressly SV(15) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 Totals 9 0 0 0 3 15 0 31 New York Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP Cole L(6-2) 7 4 1 1 2 8 1 26 King 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 Luetge 1 3 1 1 2 1 0 7 Totals 9 8 3 3 5 10 2 38 Umpires: HP - Alex Tosi, 1B - Mike Muchlinski, 2B - John Libka, 3B - Todd Tichenor Official Scorer: Howie Karpin Time of Game: 3:14 Attendance: 45076 Starting Lineups: Houston Astros New York Yankees 1. Altuve 2b Judge cf 2. Brantley dh Rizzo 1b 3. Bregman 3b Donaldson 3b 4. Alvarez lf Stanton dh 5. Tucker rf Torres 2b 6. A. Diaz ss Hicks lf 7. Matijevic 1b Trevino c 8. Meyers cf M. Gonzalez ss 9. Maldonado c Gallo rf Javier p Cole p ASTROS 1ST: Altuve walked; Brantley struck out; Bregman flied to center; Alvarez struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. YANKEES 1ST: Judge flied to right; Rizzo flied to center; Donaldson walked; Stanton struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. ASTROS 2ND: Tucker walked; A. Diaz flied to center; Tucker stole second; Matijevic struck out; Meyers grounded out (pitcher to second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. YANKEES 2ND: Torres popped to first; Hicks struck out; Trevino flied to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. ASTROS 3RD: Maldonado struck out; Altuve flied to center; Brantley flied to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. YANKEES 3RD: M. Gonzalez grounded out (first to pitcher); Gallo was called out on strikes; Judge struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. ASTROS 4TH: Bregman flied to right in foul territory; Alvarez struck out; Tucker popped to third in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. YANKEES 4TH: Rizzo grounded out (first unassisted); Donaldson struck out; Stanton struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. ASTROS 5TH: A. Diaz grounded out (shortstop to first); Matijevic flied to center; Meyers singled to right; Maldonado singled to center [Meyers to second]; Altuve lined to center; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. YANKEES 5TH: Torres flied to left; Hicks was called out on strikes; Trevino struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. ASTROS 6TH: Brantley singled to right; Bregman grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Brantley out at second]; Alvarez struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. YANKEES 6TH: M. Gonzalez struck out; Gallo popped to first in foul territory; Judge struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Yankees 0. ASTROS 7TH: Tucker grounded out (second to first); A. Diaz struck out; Matijevic homered; Meyers was called out on strikes; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Yankees 0. YANKEES 7TH: Rizzo struck out; Donaldson reached on an error by Bregman [Donaldson to first]; Stanton was called out on strikes; Torres struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 1, Yankees 0. ASTROS 8TH: KING REPLACED COLE (PITCHING); Maldonado was called out on strikes; Altuve homered; Brantley grounded out (pitcher to shortstop to first); Bregman walked; Alvarez grounded out (pitcher to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Yankees 0. YANKEES 8TH: NERIS REPLACED JAVIER (PITCHING); Hicks walked; CARPENTER BATTED FOR TREVINO; Carpenter flied to left; LEMAHIEU BATTED FOR M. GONZALEZ; LeMahieu walked [Hicks to second]; Gallo flied to right [Hicks to third]; Judge forced LeMahieu (shortstop to second) [Judge to first]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 2, Yankees 0. ASTROS 9TH: TORRES CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING SS); HIGASHIOKA REPLACED CARPENTER (PLAYING C ); LEMAHIEU STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B); LUETGE REPLACED KING (PITCHING); Tucker walked; A. Diaz doubled to left [Tucker to third]; GURRIEL BATTED FOR MATIJEVIC; Gurriel singled to center [Tucker scored, A. Diaz out at home (center to catcher), Gurriel to second]; Meyers singled to left [Gurriel to third]; Maldonado was called out on strikes; Altuve walked [Meyers to second]; Brantley grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Astros 3, Yankees 0. YANKEES 9TH: GURRIEL STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); PRESSLY REPLACED NERIS (PITCHING); Rizzo struck out; Donaldson struck out; Stanton grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 3, Yankees 0. Final Totals R H E LOB Astros 3 8 1 8 Yankees 0 0 0 4