The Astros thwarted the Rangers on Monday night, thanks to an outstanding performance from the team’s pitchers who combined to toss MLB’s first no-hitter since 2024.
Houston starter Tatsuya Imai threw six hitless innings, striking out two batters and walking four. He was given the hook after 97 pitches, and the Astros turned to Steven Okert in relief. Okert handled the seventh inning, issuing one walk and recording one strikeout, before 23-year-old right-hander Alimber Santa was called out of the bullpen. Santa was making his MLB debut, thrown into the mix in a high-pressure situation in the eighth inning and tasked with keeping the no-hitter alive.
Santa answered the call, keeping Texas off the board in the eighth inning and even closing it out in the ninth inning. He threw 24 pitches in total and recorded his first career strikeout against Brandon Nimmo. The outfielder went down looking, though he tried to challenge the ruling from home plate umpire Paul Clemons. Nimmo’s challenge was unsuccessful, although it did force Houston to wait for the review before fully getting into their celebration.
Alimber Santa completes the combined no-hitter for the @Astros!
— MLB (@MLB) May 26, 2026
This is the 18th no-hitter thrown in Astros franchise history! pic.twitter.com/XeHgqlOWZg
There were a few close calls for Houston throughout the game. In the bottom of the third inning, shortstop Jeremy Peña made a highlight play to prevent a single, ranging to his right and throwing a one-hopper to Christian Walker, who scooped the ball cleanly for the out. Considering the Astros only had four strikeouts in the game, the defense had plenty to do in order to keep the no-hitter intact.
Monday night was the best start of Imai’s MLB career. The Japanese righthander entered play with an 8.31 ERA in his first MLB season, but the hitless outing against the Rangers saw that figure drop to 6.19. Imai missed a month of action after landing on the 15-day IL while dealing with arm fatigue but returned in mid-May. This was his sixth start of the season. The 28-year-old signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Astros in the offseason after being posted by his former NPB club, the Saitama Seibu Lions.
