The Houston Astros put a tough Game 3 loss behind them and completely dominated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4, evening the World Series at two games apiece thanks to a combined no-hitter, the first in postseason history.
Cristian Javier led the way for Houston, throwing six scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen.
Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly finished things off to tie the World Series.
But Javier finds himself in some elite Astros company after last night’s start with tonight’s starter in Justin Verlander.
The two Astros aces have combined to have five starts with no hits allowed and nine strikeouts this season.
No team has had five such starts over the last 35 seasons combined, including the regular season and postseason.
Starts with 9+ strikeouts and no hits allowed for the @astros this season:
6/25: Xavier
8/23: Verlander
9/16: Verlander
4/10: Verlander
2/11: XavierNo other team has had 5 such starts total over the last 35 seasons combined (regular season or postseason).
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) November 3, 2022
Javier, Verlander Combine For History
Javier and Verlander have both been key factors for the Astros during this run to the World Series.
Javier enjoyed a dominant night in Game 4.
In addition to striking out nine batters and allowing no hits, he only allowed two walks as the Astros held the Phillies off the scoreboard.
Verlander has had three of the five Astros starts with nine strikeouts and no hits allowed.
After Javier’s dominant performance, Verlander will look to build on that tonight as he gets the start in Game 5.
The Astros will send him to the mound in hopes of returning home with a 3-2 series lead.
The momentum now remains with Houston following Javier’s Game 4 dominance.
Verlander will match up with Noah Syndergaard tonight in Game 5.
