Astros' Spencer Arrighetti flirts with no-hitter vs. Phillies - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs and rookie Spencer Arrighetti carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and struck out 11 as the Houston Astros routed the Philadelphia Phillies and Taijuan Walker 10-0 on Wednesday.

Arrighetti, a 24-year-old right-hander, shut down the NL East-leading Phillies through seven innings and lost his no-hitter in the eighth inning when leadoff hitter Austin Hays reached on an infield single. Third baseman Shay Whitcomb just missed gloving the ball, and shortstop Jeremy Peña couldn't throw out Hays after fielding the ball deep in the hole at shortstop.

Whitcomb entered as a defensive replacement after Alex Bregman was hit in the head by an 88 mph pitch from Michael Mercado in the seventh inning.

Arrighetti (7-11) was lifted with two outs in the eighth, finishing with 11 strikeouts and four walks while allowing two hits in his longest outing as a professional in either the majors or minors.

«He was magnificent,» Houston manager Joe Espada said.

Arrighetti was trying to become the fourth pitcher in the big leagues to toss a no-hitter this season, joining teammate Ronel Blanco, who no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1.

Bryan King worked 1⅓ innings and combined with Arrighetti to limit the Phillies to three hits.

«Next pitch kind of mentality,» Arrighetti said.

Alvarez hit the first of his three homers in the fourth inning off Walker, a two-run, opposite-field shot. He took Mercado out of the park in the seventh and eighth innings to finish with four hits and four RBIs.

It was Alvarez's third career three-homer game, which ties Hall of Fame slugger Jeff Bagwell for most three-homer games in Astros history.

Chas McCormick also went deep for the AL West-leading Astros, who