NEW YORK (AP) — Cristian Javier, Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly combined on the first no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 19 years, shutting down the best team in baseball and pitching the Houston Astros to a 3-0 victory on Saturday.
Javier (5-3), a 25-year-old right-hander without a complete game in 84 professional starts, was clearly tired when manager Dusty Baker brought in a reliever to start the eighth. Javier set career highs for strikeouts (13) and pitches (115), and he matched his longest start with seven innings.
Pressly, who gave up a tying three-run homer to Aaron Hicks in a 7-6 loss Thursday night, retired three straight batters in the ninth for his 15th save in 18 chances.
After Giancarlo Stanton hit into a game-ending groundout, the Astros walked onto the field and gathered near the mound for a brief celebration. Houston was also the previous team to no-hit New York, when six pitchers combined for one at the old Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2003.
Rookie J.J. Matijevic gave Javier a lead in the seventh when he hit his second big league homer, driving a fastball from Gerrit Cole (6-2) into the right-field second deck. Jose Altuve homered into the left-field second deck in the eighth against Michael King, and pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel added an RBI single off Lucas Luetge in the ninth.
Photo: Getty Images