Tatsuya Imai's Strong Start Paves Path for Astros Combined No-Hitter

Out of all the starters the Houston Astros have used this season, Tatsuya Imai may be the least expected to be a part of a combined no-hitter, but he's done it.

Imai shoved six hitless frames before Steven Okert and Alimber Santa threw three hitless innings of relief to blank the Texas Rangers, and produce MLB's first no-hitter since the Chicago Cubs in September 2024.

It's also the Astros first no-hitter since Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Astros Toss Combined No-Hitter

THE MOMENT!!! pic.twitter.com/yRVK1rHq9G
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 26, 2026

The reason why this no-hitter was improbable wasn't because of the opponent, but the pitchers. Imai has publicly struggled this season adjusting to American baseball and culture. The NPB star was Houston's crown jewel offseason acquisition, but failed to pitch like it.

Entering Monday night, Imai owned an 8.31 ERA over five starts and had given up at least three runs in four of those starts. Command has been a huge issue, but he's been hit a lot as well. Ironically, Imai walked four batters and threw just 57 of his 97 pitches for strikes, but still got the job done.

He relied heavily on his 4-seam fastball and slider once again, throwing those 96% of the time, and just throwing four sinkers. Earlier this season, Imai believed most of his offspeed pitches were to blame for his wild tendencies, and for one night, that will be forgotten about.

In the seventh inning, Okert used 15 pitches and worked around a walk to throw a hitless inning. He's on a roll and was used by manager Joe Espada perfectly. He's allowed a hit or a run in just one of his last eight games.

Espada went from making an obvious decision to a sketchy one. He brought in Santa, who hadn't pitched since May 17 in Triple-A, to make his major league debut and throw two innings. He's been an elite reliever since the start of 2025 in the minor leagues, and certainly deserved the promotion, but this decision-making is questionable at best.

Thankfully, Espada trusted his guy, and Santa recorded six outs rather quickly. He used just 24 pitches to mow through the heart of the order, including the 1-3 batters in the ninth to secure the no-hitter in his MLB debut.

The only pitcher in MLB history to throw a complete game no-hitter in their MLB debut was Bumpus Jones on October 15, 1892, per MLB.com. While his two hitless innings are far from a complete game, he is a part of history that is incredibly rare.

Monday night marks the Astros' seventh no-hitter since 2019, four of which were combined between pitchers.

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