HOUSTON – The Houston Astros haven’t had the start fans hoped for in 2026, but the squad gave its traveling supporters something to cheer about Monday night.
The Astros threw a combined no-hitter, cruising to a 9-0 victory over the cross-state rival Texas Rangers in the road series opener.
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Rookie Japanese phenom Tatsuya Imai (2-2) got the start for Houston. Across 6.0 innings, he threw 97 pitches while recording two strikeouts and four walks.
Steven Okert pitched the seventh inning for Houston, tallying one walk and one strikeout in his lone frame.
To begin the eighth inning, Alimber Santa, a 23-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic, made his MLB debut. Santa was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land last Friday and sported a Santa Claus belt during his first major league appearance.
Santa threw 24 pitches across the game’s final 2.0 innings. He recorded one strikeout and did not allow a baserunner, completing the no-hitter in historic fashion in his MLB debut.
Houston got on the board in the opening frame when a sacrifice fly from Yordan Alvarez brought Jeremy Peña home. Alvarez added a solo homer in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Astros added two more runs in the fifth before Christian Walker blew the game open with a three-run homer to left-center field in the seventh inning.
A single by Nick Allen later in the inning plated the game’s final run, making the score 9-0.
Kumar Rocker (2-5) started for Texas, recording five strikeouts while allowing four hits, four earned runs and two walks across 5.0 innings.
The win lifts Houston to 24-31 on the season, while Texas falls to 24-29.
Game 2 of the series in Arlington is scheduled for Tuesday, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.