For Houston, no runs, no hits, no apologies

The team approach to a no-hitter is part of today's game.

It’s too late to apologize to Preston Gomez. He died in 2009. He was one of the most influential coaches and advisors wherever he served, but on two occasions he pulled Clay Kirby and Don Wilson out of no-hitters they were pitching, and for that he was known as a party-pooper and an enemy of baseball’s celestial scrapbook.

Gomez would be reminding you that Kirby and Wilson were both behind when he lifted them, Kirby as a Padre vs. the Mets in 1970, Wilson as an Astro vs. the Reds four years later. Concern over pitching volume wasn’t a consideration. But Gomez thought there were more important things than half-heartedly chasing a no-no.

Today, of course, it’s routine. Dave Roberts removed Clayton Kershaw from what might have been his first perfect game in April. On June 25, Cristian Javier pitched the first seven innings of what turned out to be a no-hitter for Houston in Yankee Stadium. History be damned. Starters aren’t programmed to pitch that long, either competitively or physically. Romance is nice, but not when you lose in the ninth inning and your closer is still wearing his warmup jacket.

Javier took the mound for Houston in Game 4 of the World Series Wednesday. Houston trailed Philadephia, 2-1. Everyone goes on and on about the Pivotal Fifth Game, but the fourth one has its implications, too. The Phillies could have gone ahead 3-1 and made Citizens Bank Park uninhabitable for the visitors Thursday night. Instead, Houston won 5-0 and tied the Series, 2-2.

This, of course, is burying the lead. Javier was overwhelming in his six innings. He struck out nine, walked two and gave up no hits. He could have been wearing a sign saying, “I’m getting ready to throw a fastball,” and the Phillies couldn’t have hit him even with Win Reality goggles.

Manager Dusty Baker pulled Javier at the point and went with relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly to end it. Later, Baker laughed and said, yes, he was already thinking about Game 7, when Javier might be summoned for a few pitches on two days’ rest. No, actually Baker said Javier might be ready “for a couple of innings.”

But Javier had thrown 97 pitches. That’s when the light started blinking. If Javier had found a way to get through nine innings with 97 pitches, Baker probably would have sat there and enjoyed it like everyone else. Don Larsen threw 97 pitches in Game 5 of the 1956 Series, and thus became the first and only man to pitch a singlehanded World Series no-hitter or perfect game. He may remain so for a while.

Astros’ starters averaged 5.9 innings per start. That was easily the most of any staff in baseball. Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins was the only pitcher to average seven innings per start. In 1992, there were 23 starters who averaged at least seven, including 25-year-old John Smoltz of the Braves.

So this was a thoroughly modern milestone. The real issue, however, is how the Astros find and develop young pitchers like Javier, Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia, and how instrumental they’ve been to the effort of reaching three World Series in four seasons.

Javier was a converted outfielder who signed for $40,000. His minor league managers, particularly former Astro Morgan Ensberg, nicknamed him “El Reptil” because he had such reptilian cool and yet could strike in an instant. This was his 14th postseason game, but the Astros have supervised his innings progression, from 54 to 101 to 148 the past three seasons.

Valdez did not sign until he was 21. This year he led baseball in quality starts (six innings, three earned runs) and indeed set a record with 25 of them in a row.

Garcia, who gave up J.T. Realmuto’s game-winning home run in Game 1, did not sign until he was 20, but was the first Houston rookie to start an elimination game in the 2020 ALCS vs. Tampa Bay.

Any of the three would command a high position in anyone’s rotation. Javier’s opponents have hit .178 off him, lifetime. Valdez gave up 11 home runs in 201 one-third innings. That HR ratio and those innings were tops in the American League.

Garcia was 15-8 and can’t get into the playoff rotation.

You can say what you want about Jeff Luhnow, the disgraced general manager who was thumbed out of baseball after the 2019 report on the 2017 scandal, but his scouts and his staff signed Javier, Valdez and Garcia.

When you have pitchers who are this good, this young and this cheap, you can pay your core position players and remain as low as 10th on the MLB payroll list. And only pitcher Lance McCullers is signed past 2004 (2006). Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman are making close to $60 million between them. Houston has drafted and developed and signed so wisely that the three young pitchers, plus Kyle Tucker (30 homers, 100 RBIs), plus Yordan Alvarez (second-best OPS in the A.L.), plus Jeremy Pena (MVP of the ALCS) are making a grand total of $7.23 million.

Refusing to give the Phillies a hit for nine innings will probably be as effective as shooting Mongo. It will just make them mad. But there are only two possibilities when it comes to Cristian Javier. Either the Phillies will see him again or they won’t. Neither seems appealing.