Washington (United States) (AFP) – Tatsuya Imai, in only his sixth Major League Baseball game since arriving from Japan, joined two relief pitchers to throw a no-hitter in Houston’s 9-0 victory at Texas on Monday. The 28-year-old Japanese right-hander, who spent the past eight years with the Saitama Seibu Lions, struck out two batters and walked four in six hitless shutout innings for the Astros.
American left-handed reliever Steven Okert blanked the Rangers in the seventh inning, and Alimber Santa, a Dominican right-hander making his MLB debut, tossed the final two hitless innings to complete the first no-hitter of the MLB campaign. It was the 18th no-hitter in Astros history and the first since Ronel Blanco baffled the Toronto Blue Jays in April 2024.
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Imai walked the first two batters he faced but tightened up from there and took the victory, improving to 2-2 on the campaign. “The Rangers line-up wasn’t swinging aggressively,” Imai said through a translator. “In my mind, I just wanted to get a first-pitch strike, just get in the zone and get the outs, and I was able to get the big W for the team.”
It was the first MLB no-hitter since Japan’s Shota Imanga and American relievers Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge of the Chicago Cubs against Pittsburgh in September 2024. It was the fifth combined no-hitter in Astros’ history, the first since a 2022 World Series game-four victory over Philadelphia on the way to the title.
Imai threw a combined no-hitter last season in Japan, tossing eight innings before Kaima Taira threw a hitless ninth against Fukuoka. Imai signed a three-year MLB contract with the Astros worth $54 million but struggled early this season with a 7.27 earned run average after three starts before going on the injured list with arm fatigue. He returned two weeks ago and pitched twice before his no-hit achievement.
© 2024 AFP
