As hot as the Phillies have been at the plate this postseason, Astros starter Cristian Javier doused the lineup on Wednesday night with a healthy dose of a four-seam fastball that hovered around 93 mph.
It was nothing overpowering, but the Phillies did not have an answer.
Javier, along with relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly, combined to toss a no-hitter en route to a 5-0 win over the Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series.
The game marked the first-ever combined no-hitter in World Series history and just the second no-hitter in the 118 years of the Fall Classic; Don Larsen hurled a perfect-game for the Yankees in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
The series is tied, 2-2.
"Spin rate," said Bryce Harper, mentioning what made Javier so effective. "His 93 (mph) looks like 97. The slider's good. He's good."
Javier whiffed nine and walked two over six innings.
"His fastball has really good ride to it," added Nick Castellanos. "So, it's almost a pitch you have to cheat to a little bit to be able to square it, and by cheating to his fastball you're opened up to all of his off-speed stuff. Him and [catcher Christian] Vazquez did a good job game-planning and keeping us off balance."
The Phillies combined to whiff 14 times on the night and reached base just three times, all via walk. It was a total flip from the night before when the Phils' offense clubbed five homers in a 7-0 win.
“Yeah, I really don’t give a (expletive),” Kyle Schwarber said afterward when questioned about the historical context of being no-hit in the World Series. "A lot of people will see this as this big thing, for us it's literally just a loss."
It's now a race to win two of the final three remaining games in the Fall Classic. We also know the series will return to Houston for Game 6 on Saturday night, with a potential Game 7 on Sunday.
"We were no hit earlier in the year in New York against the Mets, and we came back the next day and won," said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. "So these guys, they got a short memory. They're going to go home tonight. They're going to go to bed and come back in here tomorrow and prep and compete like they always do."
Aaron Nola weaved in and out of danger over the first four frames, eventually leaving in the fifth with the bases loaded without recording an out. His velocity was a tad above his yearly average, but the Astros hit six balls with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher.
Jose Alvarado inherited Nola's bases-loaded mess in the fifth and hit Yordan Alvarez with the first pitch he threw, allowing the Astros to take a 1-0 lead. The floodgates opened from there as Houston brought nine batters to the plate in the frame and put a five-spot.
Two runs were charged to Alvarado, while three went against Nola.
It marked the third consecutive lackluster start for Nola, who has now surrendered 14 earned runs over his last 13 innings on the mound.
With the series tied, the Phillies will turn to Noah Syndergaard in Game 5 and rely heavily on a bullpen that has been busy this series, having already logged 17 2/3 innings through four games.
The Astros will turn to ace Justin Verlander who the Phillies had success against in Game 1, taking him for five runs en route to an impressive 6-5 win.
Verlander, a future Hall of Famer, has struggled over his career in the World Series, posting an 0-6 record to go along with a 6.07 ERA.
The Phillies have showcased resiliency throughout this postseason, so it's not surprising that the mood in the clubhouse after Game 4 was calm and confident.
"Confident as ever," said Alec Bohm. "I don't think anybody is worried. Tonight stays here and tomorrow is a new day. Save some hits for tomorrow."
