Javier, the 25-year-old right-hander, went the first six innings without allowing a hit. From there, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly pitched the final three hitless frames to complete the bid. The combined effort is just the second no-hitter in World Series history and the first since Don Larsen’s perfect game for the Yankees in 1956. Additionally, it is the first MLB postseason no-hitter since Roy Halladay for the Phillies against the Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS. Now for some takeaways from an unforgettable night in South Philly.
Javier was dominant
This wasn’t a no-hitter bid based on good luck – Javier owned the Philly lineup in Game 4. In those six innings, he struck out nine, walked two and located 63 of his 97 pitches for strikes. Caused 25 smells plus so-called hits. He also did a great job of suffocating contact off the bat, as no Philly hitter managed to hit the ball with an expected batting average north of .100 until the sixth inning. Javier relied heavily on his fastball in Game 4, throwing the four 72 percent of the time. That solid pitch in the background allowed Javier to keep the Phillies off balance with some well-timed sliders. The slider was far and away Javier’s best offering during Game 4, but it all worked.
That + Javier’s ALCS gem against the Yankees = history
In Javier’s final start this postseason, he blanked the Yankees by allowing zero runs on one hit over 5 1/3 innings. Not surprisingly, this kind of relentless stinginess when it comes to allowing hits in consecutive playoff starts has never been seen before:
The Phillies almost broke it open in the eighth
With two outs in the eighth, Philly’s Jean Segura jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Montero and nearly ended the Astros’ date with history. Here’s a look: That was a well-made one to say the least, but unfortunately for Segura and the Phillies it was right on Gold Glover Kyle Tucker. As it turns out, that quality of the hit — namely launch angle and exit velocity (99 mph in Segura’s case) — is almost always a hit: However, it wasn’t Wednesday night in Game 4. The second closest the Phillies got? That would be a blow to Kyle Schwarber in the third inning who just fouled out down the first base line. Schwarber broke out looking at the bat.
There are many coincidences
If you’re looking for lots of examples of symmetry that suggest some kind of grand design, then you’ve come to the right place. First, know that in just 2022 this isn’t the first time Javier has pitched a no-hitter, and it’s also not the first time this year the Phillies have come out on the wrong side of a combined no-hitter: And who started for the Phillies when they were no-hit during the regular season? This would be Aaron Nola’s Game 4 starter: Looking back at the Halladay no-hitter in 2010, the location of that no-hitter was Citizens Bank Park. The opposing manager in Halladay’s playoff no-hitter? That would be current Astros manager Dusty Baker.
It was a huge win for the Astros
That no-no happened in the biggest game of Houston’s season to date. A loss would drop them to 3-1 in this best-of-seven series and give them historically just a 17.9 percent chance of coming back to win the series. Instead, Javier and company held Houston to a 2-2 tie. That means it’s essentially a best-of-three series now, and the Astros will host Game 6 and a possible Game 7. That’s a huge swing in odds and reshaped the 2022 World Series.
