If a no-hitter takes more than one pitcher to complete, does a tree fall in the forest?
That might not be how the actual expression goes, but the topic of combined vs. solo no-hitters was much-discussed Wednesday night following the Astros’ combined no-no against the Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series. Houston used four pitchers to finish the job, leaning on Cristian Javier’s stellar six-inning, nine-strikeout effort.
The Astros went on to win, 5-0, to even the series at two games apiece.
After Javier was pulled with 97 pitches thrown, manager Dusty Baker leaned on Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly, who each worked one inning.