Aaron Sanchez’s debut with the Houston Astros was about as memorable as could be. Sanchez, who had struggled this season before his trade from the Toronto Blue Jays, threw six no-hit innings, and three Astros relievers finished off a 9-0 victory and the third no-hitter of the Major League Baseball season.
The three relievers in on the effort were Will Harris, Joe Biagini and Chris Devenski. The four pitchers walked four batters, hit another with a pitch and struck out eight.
The Astros throw just the 14th combined no-hitter in MLB history 🛑 pic.twitter.com/Od4woGVLfD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 4, 2019
Quite a turnaround
Sanchez had struggled so much in Toronto that the Blue Jays traded him — along with reliever Biagini and a prospect, Cal Stevenson — to get Derek Fisher, who’s hitting .201 in his career.
In fact, Sanchez didn’t even have a win in his past 17 starts and was just 3-14 on the season.
Not anymore. Sanchez walked two, hit a batter and struck out six in six innings of work. He retired 13 of 14 between the first and sixth innings. Sanchez threw 92 pitches before Astros manager A.J. Hinch decided to go to the bullpen.
Aaron Sanchez last 17 starts in Toronto:
0-13, 7.49 ERA, .901 opp. OPSAaron Sanchez 1st start in Houston:
7 hitless IPHe’s the 1st pitcher ever to get traded after losing 13 in a row in the season he was traded
Are the #Astros really that much smarter than everyone else?
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 4, 2019
Heading different directions
This is the 302nd no-hitter in Major League Baseball history (only 23 have been perfect games) and the third this season. The first two were Mike Fiers’ complete-game gem for the Oakland A’s against the Reds on May 7 and the Angels’ combined no-no against the Mariners on July 12.
That’s right, the Mariners. This is the fourth time in big-league history the same team has been no-hit in the same season. It’s no surprise that a young Seattle team, 47-66 and having traded many of its best hitters, has that ignominious distinction.
In fact, the Mariners have quite the recent history with no-hitters. They have been involved in three of the past four, with James Paxton throwing the final one of the 2018 season. Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez also has the most recent perfect game, in 2012 (and Mike Leake, with Seattle at the time, nearly threw one last month).
The Astros, of course, are headed in an opposite direction. They’re 72-40, a half-game behind the Dodgers and percentage points behind the Yankees for the best record in baseball. And they’re about to debut another trade acquisition: Zack Grienke, who starts Tuesday against Colorado.
Look at these studs. pic.twitter.com/ogCid6JRZS
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 4, 2019
