The combined no-no joins Don Larsen’s perfect game for the 1956 New York Yankees in World Series lore. It’s his third hitless postseason and comes on the same field as his second: Roy Halladay’s NLDS no-no for the Phillies in 2010. Javier, the naturally calm 25-year-old Astros starter, pitched six hitless innings to help Houston calm the Philadelphia crowd and bounce back from a tough Game 3, striking out nine and walking two. After 97 pitches, manager Dusty Baker shook his hand and turned to the bullpen. Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly each pitched an inning to close it out. Overall, the Astros hit 14 Phillies and retired 18 in a row between walks in the third and ninth innings. Javier will complete his first full season as a major leaguer by entering the record books as the author of the longest World Series hitless start outside of Larsen’s perfect. He eclipses Atlanta Braves pitcher Ian Anderson, who went five innings without allowing a hit in the 2021 World Series Game 3 against the Astros. The Braves bullpen finally allowed the first hit leading into the eighth. This was no accident either. Javier threw seven clean frames to start a combined no-hitter against the Yankees earlier this season, and allowed the lowest second-half average in baseball among starting pitchers. The Phillies also fell victim to a combined no-hitter earlier this year, falling hitless against the New York Mets in April. Coming off a burst that established him as a key starter, Javier is nicknamed “El Reptil” – The Reptile – because early in his career coaches thought he was cold-blooded, a description that now seems particularly apt. Tame the Phillies – who bombed Lance McCullers Jr. a night earlier in a Game 3 win — mostly with his fastball. He hits it high in the belt, creating the sensation of rising. Then he plays it with a biting slider and the occasional curveball. Of Javier’s 97 pitches in Game 4, 70 were fastballs. The story continues Astros shortstop Cristian Javier’s pitch chart against the Phillies in World Series Game 4. (Courtesy Baseball Savant) All of Houston’s runs came in the fifth inning. They chased down Phillies starter Aaron Nola by hitting three straight singles. When Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado came in, he got Yordan Alvarez to drive in the first run, then Alex Bregman followed with a two-RBI double. An Astros win guarantees the series will return to Houston, requiring at least six games to crown a champion. However, Game 5 will still be in Philadelphia. This starts on Thursday night at 8pm. ET on FOX. How did we get here? Catch up on everything you need to know about the World Series:
