Astros throw combined no-no to even series

*Photo from the Houston Chronicle*

Series tied 2-2

   Searching for ways to control the Philadelphia Phillies incredible offense, the Houston Astros found a way. Alex Bregman drove in two runs, Cristian Javier shined, and the Astros defeated the Phillies with a 5-0 victory on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

   Coming off a loss in game 3 of the World Series in which Lance McCullers Jr was tagged with 5 homers, the Astros were looking for a response. They got enough offense, thanks to Bregman and Yuli Gurriel among others, but it was the pitching that starred.

   The Astros pitching limited the Phillies mighty offense to just 3 baserunners, all by way of the walk. Yes, that's right, they tossed a combined no hitter in a World Series game. It's the second ever no-hitter thrown in the World Series, the last one being Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956. Earlier in the season, they combined to no hit the Yankees, and now they did it again in the World Series.

   Javier said of the bounce back win that "We just stayed focused, just came out motivated after yesterday's loss. We had positive energy in the clubhouse. We told ourselves that we would come in today to win. Coming into the ballpark today, we studied the other team, had a lot of adrenaline and stayed positive and just had a lot of desire to win."

   It was Yordan Alvarez who started the scoring for the Astros, getting hit by a pitch in the 5th with the bases loaded to drive in a run. Bregman then drove in two runs with a double down the right field line. Kyle Tucker brought in a run with a sac fly, and Gurriel hit an RBI single to make it a 5-0 final score.

   Asked about the scoring, Tucker said that "Anyone in our lineup can hit a homer, but it’s not the only way to win. We put up quality at-bats, work walks, a sac fly, anything to get a run in. Runs are hard to come by in the playoffs. There’s a lot of really good arms out there. So anything we can do out there to put up a quality at-bat, we’re going to try to do."

   Javier was the starter for the Astros and made the most of his chance. He pitched the first 6 no hit innings, walking two hitters while striking out 9 of them. Bryan Abreu struck out the side in the 7th inning, leading to a shutout 8th from Rafael Montero. Ryan Pressly sealed the no hitter in the 9th.

   Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Javier's start that "He was electric. He threw the ball up, down, and that shows you that the best pitch in baseball is still the well-located fastball. He was calm, cool. Christian Vázquez called a great game for him. I think that's the first time I've seen two guys with the same first name as a battery. So maybe that was part of it."

   The Phillies sent Aaron Nola to the mound, who was charged with 3 runs and couldn't get an out in the 5th inning before being pulled. Jose Alvarado finished the 5th inning, but not before allowing two runs of his own. Andrew Bellatti, David Robertson, Zach Eflin, and Brad Hand each worked a shutout inning in relief.

   Asked about how the Phillies would move on, Kyle Schwarber said that "You just chalk it up to a loss. I mean, you guys can write about all the fun stuff, but it’s a loss for us and we’ve got to move on to tomorrow."

   Game 5 of the series is on Thursday night in Philadelphia. Both teams will look to grab a 3-2 series lead, with Justin Verlander starting for the Astros, and Noah Syndergaard going for the Phillies.