Houston No-Hitters, Fifteen Times Plus a Historic Bonus
Last updated 8/5/2023
Congratulations to Framber Valdez for his complete-game no-hitter against the Guardians on August 1, 2023!
Throwing a no-hitter is generally considered one of the ultimate accomplishments for a major league pitcher. The Astros are fortunate to have had fifteen no-hitters thrown in franchise history, tied for the highest of any team since 1962. And better yet, all but four have been tossed in front of hometown crowds in Houston.
Each no-hitter is special in it's own way. Don Nottebart's was the first in team history. Ken Johnson became the first pitcher in major-league history to lose a no-hitter. Don Wilson struck out 15 in his first no-hitter, and his second was a "revenge" no-hitter that came one day after the Astros were no-hit by Cincinnati. Ken Forsch's gem was the earliest ever in a major league season, while Nolan Ryan's made him the career leader in no-hitters, breaking a tie with Sandy Koufax.
Mike Scott's no-hitter in 1986 clinched the NL West against the Giants, and Darryl Kile came closer to a perfect game than any Houston pitcher in history. The bullpen no-hitter in 2003 used more pitchers than any other no-hitter in MLB history. Mike Fiers' 2015 no-no against the Dodgers was the first no-hitter pitched in 15 seasons at Minute Maid Park, Aaron Sanchez' 2019 feat, assisted by three relievers, occured in his Astros debut and Justin Verlander's 2019 gem was the first in team annals performed outside the United States. That leaves Larry Dierker's no-hitter in 1976. What was special about that one? Well, apart from the fact that it was Larry Dierker, it is probably the most special to me simply because I was there, screaming my 13-year-old lungs out in center field.
Below is a brief summary of each no-hitter. However, the GAME SUMMARY for each gem will take you to a full-page treatment of the game, complete with photos, newspaper articles, box score, complete play-by-play, and the audio broadcast for the last out.
Fast "No-Hitter" Facts:
May 17, 1963 - Don Nottebart
Don Nottebart became the first pitcher in franchise history to toss a no-hitter, beating the Phillies 4-1 in front of 8,223 cheering fans at Colt Stadium. The Phillies squeaked their lone run across the plate in the 5th, when Dom Demeter reached second on a bad throw by J.C. Hartman, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly. |
April 23, 1964 - Ken Johnson
Ken Johnson made major league history in a bittersweet fashion, becoming the first pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter and lose. Joe Nuxhall was pitching brilliantly for the Reds, and kept the game tied at 0-0 through eight inning. With one out in the 9th, Pete Rose tried to bunt for a base hit and reached second when Johnson made a bad throw to first. After Rose advanced to third on a ground out, second baseman Nellie Fox bobbled an easy grounder allowing Rose to score. Nuxhall pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Reds an historic 1-0 victory. |
June 18, 1967 - Don Wilson
Rookie flamethrower Don Wilson made a lasting impression on the Braves, striking out 15 batters in a dominating no-hitter. It was the first Houston no-hitter tossed in the Astrodome. Wilson finished strong, striking out five of the last six batters he faced, including a game-ending strikeout of slugger Hank Aaron. |
May 1, 1969 - Don Wilson
Don Wilson ended the worst start in franchise history, a 4-20 start in April, with a "revenge" no-hitter against the Reds in Cincinnati. Just one day earlier, Jim Maloney had tossed a no-hitter against the Astros and extended their losing streak to 8. The team then went on a 71-45 run to move within two games of first place on September 10th before fading over the final three weeks. |
July 9, 1976 - Larry Dierker
Larry Dierker, perhaps the player most closely identified with the franchise, pitched a 6-0 no-hitter against the Expos in his final season with the team. After four near-misses with no-hitters in his career, Dierker came at the Expos with nothing but fastballs in the last half of the game. |
April 7, 1979 - Ken Forsch
Ken Forsch, in his first start of the season, threw a dominating no-hitter in a 6-0 victory over the Braves. With the effort, Ken joined his brother Bob as the first brother duo to toss no-hitters. The April 9th date of the game was the earliest for a no-hitter in major league history until bested by Hideo Nomo in 2001. Despite striking out just thre batters, Forsch was dominating, retiring 20 consecutive batters between the only two walks he allowed in the 2nd and 8th innings. |
September 26, 1981 - Nolan Ryan
Strikeout king Nolan Ryan pitched his way into the major-league record books, passing Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax by tossing his fifth career no-hitter in front of a national TV audience. The 5-0 gem against Los Angeles was especially meaningful because Houston was in a tight race with the Reds for the NL West title. |
September 25, 1986 - Mike Scott
Mike Scott pitched the signature game in franchise history, clinching the NL West Division with a 2-0, no-hit victory over the San Francisco Giants. Despite the afternoon start time, over 32,000 fans attended in anticipation of a clinching victory, and they certainly got more than they expected. Scott's performance concluded an impressive three-game stretch by Houston starters, following a two-hitter by Jim Deshaies and a one-hitter by Nolan Ryan. |
September 8, 1993 - Darryl Kile
Darryl Kile came closer to perfection than any hurler in Houston history walking only one batter in a dominating, 7-1 no-hit victory over the Mets in the Astrodome. It was a fitting exclamation point for his first All-Star season, and represented what he could accomplish when he could throw his amazing curve ball for strikes. |
June 11, 2003 - Roy Oswalt and five relievers
Billy Wagner finished off an astonishing, six-pitcher no-hitter that resulted in 13 strikeouts in an 8-0 victory over the New York Yankees. Starter Roy Oswalt had left after the 1st inning with a groin injury. Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, and Octavio Dotel paved the way until Wagner finished off the Yankees in the 9th. It was just the second regular-season game ever between the two teams and ended a 10-year no-hitter drought for the Astros |
August 21, 2015 - Mike Fiers
Mike Fiers fired a 134-pitch no-hitter that resulted in 10 strikeouts and a 3-0 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. It was only Fiers' third start for Houston after having been acquired along with Carlos Gomez at the trade deadline for prospects, and the first no-hitter thrown at Minute Maid Park, which was in its 16th season. |
August 3, 2019 - Aaron Sanchez and three relievers
Aaron Sanchez, a deadline trade addition from the Toronto Blue Jays along with reliever Joe Biagini, made his Houston debut memorable by tossing six innings of no-hit ball at his new home against the Seattle Mariners. Buoyed by a three-run first, Sanchez tossed 92 pitches (55 strikes), struck out six and walked two. Will Harris, Biagini and Chris Devenski each threw a scoreless inning to close out the 9-0 no-hitter. |
September 1, 2019 - Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander walked Craig Biggio's son Cavan in the first inning of a Sunday contest at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It would become the only baserunner the Blue Jays would have all day. The Houston ace struck out 14 on 120 pitches to no-hit Toronto, 2-0, in a tense game that was scoreless until the ninth. Rookie Abraham Toro, a native of Canada, smashed a two-run homer off former Astro Ken Giles for the only tallies of the game. |
June 25, 2022 - Cristian Javier and two relievers
Cristian Javier, who started the season in the bullpen, upstaged former Astros star Gerrit Cole with a hitless seven-inning performance, the longest outing of his career. The Dominican righthander struck out 13 and walked only one en route to a 3-0 combined no-hitter. Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly tossed a scoreless inning each to close out the gem. Late solo home runs by J.J. Matijevic and Jose Altuve supported the cause. |
November 2, 2022 - Cristian Javier and three relievers
August 1, 2023 - Framber Valdez
The only runs of the game came in the third after two were out. Kyle Tucker, stroked a two-run single to center to plate Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena. Pena caught a line drive for the final out.
GAME STORY
(c) Houston Astros
Cristian Javier evened the World Series at two games apiece with six innings of no-hit pitching in Philadelphia.
Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly finished out the no-hitter with an inning apiece. A five-run sixth inning provided all the scoring. It was the second no-hitter in World Series history, after Don Larsen of the New York Yankees tossed a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.
GAME STORY
(c) Houston Astros
Before 33,703 at Minute Maid Park, Framber Valdez became the first lefthander in Astros history to pitch a no-hitter in a 2-0 shutout of the Cleveland Guardians. The Dominican walked just one batter and fanned seven, needing just 93 pitches for the complete effort.
