Astros throw first combined no-hitter in a World Series to beat Phillies, draw even at 2-2

PHILADELPHIA — The entirety of this baseball season has been whittled to a de facto best-of-three set, the Astros versus the Phillies, the teams tied at two wins apiece in the World Series. Houston topped Philadelphia, 5-0, on Wednesday night, putting each club just two more away from a championship.

But that wasn’t the most exciting, improbable or historic development at Citizens Bank Park.

The Astros used four pitchers to throw a combined no-hitter in Game 4, just the second such game in World Series history. The Yankees’ Don Larsen had a perfect game in Game 5 in 1956.

Cristian Javier went most of the way, riding his mystifying fastball to nine strikeouts across six innings. Relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly contributed an inning each. The sellout crowd of 45,693 was on its feet but largely quiet for the final pitches, which climaxed with the last out, J.T. Realmuto’s grounder to third baseman Alex Bregman.

The special motivator, if he needed it, for Javier was both of his parents sitting in the stands. His father arrived in the United States from their native Dominican Republic on Tuesday, and Javier said this was his first time watching his son pitch.

“It was the best gift that I could have ever give them,” Javier, who was not much of a prospect when he signed with the Astros days before his 18th birthday in 2015, said through an interpreter. “I know that they’re really proud of me.”

Astros manager Dusty Baker said: “It’s always great when you do something in front of your folks. I mean, this is a world stage here. People from all over the world are watching this, and he certainly put himself on the map.”

Javier, 25, also started the Astros’ combined no-hitter June 25 against the Yankees, tossing seven innings. The Phillies, conversely, were on the wrong end of a combined no-hitter in the regular season, against the Mets on April 29.

Aside from the Astros and Larsen, the only other postseason no-no was from Roy Halladay in the 2010 NLDS — for the Phillies, in this ballpark, with Baker the manager in the visitors’ dugout.

“That’s what’s strange about life,” Baker said. “I’ve been on both ends and here for two out of three [playoff no-hitters].”

This time, Javier dazzled, leaning heavily on his four-seam fastball and mixing in his slider, displaying an unusual degree of dominance for someone who stuck almost exclusively to two pitches.

His fastball isn’t particularly fast — it averaged 94 mph Wednesday — but is “riding,” as Phillies manager Rob Thomson described it. Batters find it close to impossible to track and even tougher to hit. Christian Vazquez, his catcher for Game 4 and an opponent in the past, prefers this role.

“That’s the best fastball right now in baseball,” Vazquez said. “It’s electric. You can call it anytime. No matter who is in the batter’s box, you can call it and it’s going to be success with that pitch.”

Javier struck out five in a row in the middle of the order his second time through the Phillies’ lineup. The Phillies didn’t manage so much as a close call. Kyle Schwarber hit a couple of balls hard, a flyout in the first and a groundout in the sixth, but both became outs with ordinary defensive efforts.

Baker pulled Javier after 97 pitches, turning to a bullpen that was rested and effective.

Abreu struck out the side in a perfect seventh inning.

Montero, a former Mets prospect, likewise retired the side in order in the eighth, with an assist from rightfielder Kyle Tucker. He made a running catch of Jean Segura’s line drive, the Phillies’ best chance at a hit all night.

Pressly got Brandon Marsh, Rhys Hoskins and Realmuto in the bottom of the ninth. In between, Schwarber had a pair of firm line drives that each induced a fleeting moment of tension before it became clear they were foul.

That marked an extreme swing for a powerful Phillies lineup that on Tuesday hit five home runs off Lance McCullers Jr. — the most long balls allowed by a starter in a World Series game — in a blowout win.

“For me? A loss is a loss,” Thomson said. “We were no hit earlier in the year in New York against the Mets and we came back the next day and won. So these guys, they got a short memory.”

Schwarber said: “I really don’t give a [expletive]. Move on to tomorrow. It’s cool. We’ll be in the history books, I guess.”

The Astros struck for five runs in the fifth inning against Aaron Nola and Jose Alvarado. Alvarado inherited a bases-loaded, no-out jam and drilled Yordan Alvarez with a first-pitch 99-mph sinker to force in a run, snapping the Astros’ 16-inning scoreless streak that began Saturday. Alex Bregman, behind in the count 0-and-2, lined a 101-mph sinker to rightfield for a two-run double.

Javier and the relievers did the rest.

“We’ve not finished the job yet, but this is very, very special for us,” Vazquez said. “And when we get old we’re going to remember this.”

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.