The Houston Astros are the no-hitter kings of baseball. Just when it was least expected, the Astros threw their 18th no-hitter in franchise history in a 9-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday night at Globe Life Field.
The pitching staff that was considered the worst in baseball not too long ago just threw a combined no-hitter. That’s arguably more difficult than a no-hitter by one pitcher, because you need multiple hurlers to be on their game and not allow a hit.
THE MOMENT!!! pic.twitter.com/yRVK1rHq9G
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 26, 2026
A Historic Astros No-Hitter
Tatsuya Imai, Steven Okert, and rookie reliever Alimber Santa combined for the seventh no-hitter in the last eight seasons for the Astros. There’s not an organization in baseball that has done combined no-hitters better than the Astros. This was the fifth combined no-hitter in Astros history, which is also the most in MLB history. All five of them have come since 2003.
HISTORY MADE.#ChaseTheFight x @budweiserusa pic.twitter.com/5GqX4CLQdm
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 26, 2026
Here Comes Santa
The biggest piece of history and the most impressive part of the achievement was what Santa accomplished. He became just the second player ever to make his MLB debut as part of a no-hitter. Santa was the first player since Bumpus Jones in 1882 to get that done. It’s been 134 years since that happened, and Santa was the one who did it and closed out the no-hitter with two perfect innings.
Debut of a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/yc05Oz8134
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 26, 2026
The Astros have thrown the most no-hitters in baseball since their founding season of 1962. The next closest are the Los Angeles Dodgers with 13. This was the first no-hitter in MLB since Sept. 4, 2024. It was arguably the most improbable no-hitter in recent Astros history, considering how poor the pitching was looking throughout the first two months. First of all, Imai was the starting pitcher for the Astros in this game, who entered with an 8.31 ERA.
Imai Has Turned a Corner
Imai has struggled mightily in the first few starts of his MLB career and had to adjust to the new culture, among other issues, such as the mound and the different kind of baseball. It wasn’t looking great in the first inning. A no-hitter was definitely not on the minds of anyone at all. Imai started his outing with two walks followed by a double play. He then walked a third batter, but somehow got out of the inning.
Imai was great the rest of the way. He did get some help on defense from his teammates, such as Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers, who both recently returned to the active roster. Both made some special plays to prevent hits. Either way, Imai allowed only one man on base the rest of the five innings. It was six innings of no-hit ball and the longest outing of Imai’s career. He threw 97 pitches, with 57 of them for strikes, and struck out two.
Santa Magic in May For the Astros No-Hitter
Okert has been reliable all year and, after a lead-off walk, got all three batters out. The fate of the no-hitter then shifted to Santa, a 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic who was just called up from Triple-A Sugar Land four days prior. This was his first opportunity, and it wasn’t too big for the rookie. Santa’s sweeper and slider all had excellent movement. He threw 24 total pitches through two innings, and 16 of them were for strikes.
Santa was impressive at Triple-A Sugar Land and posted a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings, along with 24 strikeouts and a 0.895 WHIP. This outing will do a world of good for his confidence, and his young arm could be a real difference maker for the Astros.
Astros No-Hitters in Special Moments
This was the Astros’ first combined no-hitter since Game 4 of the 2022 World Series. That was just the second no-hitter in World Series history and the first combined no-hitter in the Fall Classic ever. It’s special for catcher Christian Vázquez, who’s now caught both of those combined no-hitters. These are the two he’s caught in his career, and Vázquez has been a productive catcher for the Astros.
The guys that got it done.#ChaseTheFight pic.twitter.com/I0Mclk4QYM
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 26, 2026
The last no-hitter the Astros threw before their last one was Ronel Blanco’s effort on April 1, 2024. Santa was able to enter on Monday because the game was out of reach. The Astros had scored nine runs at that point, thanks to a five-spot in the fifth inning. It was a sac-fly from Yordan Alvarez in the first, followed by his 16th homer of the season in the second inning that got Houston out to a 2-0 lead.
Two more runs were scored in the fifth off a bunt and then a single. One of Houston’s hottest hitters, Christian Walker, broke the game open with his second three-run homer in two days and fourth home run in the past three games. A couple of errors by the Rangers allowed Nick Allen to drive in two more.
Main Photo Credit: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
