Lincoln Zdunich
After an historic wait, the MLB no-hitter drought has come to an end. The Houston Astros pitched a combined no-hitter against the Texas Rangers, the first of its kind since the Chicago Cubs no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. It’s the first no-hitter since that same Cubs game on September 4, 2024.
Starter Tatsuya Imai has started to calm any concerns about his introduction to MLB, pitching six dominant innings. However, he was not exactly economical with his pitches and walked four while only striking out two. That caused him to build up to 97 pitches by the end of the sixth inning.
That forced Houston to turn to the bullpen, despite Imai having no-hit the Rangers through six innings. Lefty reliever Steven Okert pitched a scoreless frame, but was forced to work around a leadoff walk to Brandon Nimmo. After that, Alimbert Santa pitched two perfect innings to finish off the game for the Astros.
The offense did their part, putting up nine runs against Texas’s pitching staff. Four of those came against Kumar Rocker and five against reliever Peyton Gray. That gave Houston’s pitchers plenty of room to work with, allowing them to feel comfortable on the mound. And, with that, the Astros were able to deliver the first no-hitter of 2026.
