Astros' Tatsuya Imai, 2 relievers combine for no-hitter vs. Rangers - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Houston Astros have pitched several combined no-hitters. This one might have been the biggest surprise.

Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai threw six hitless innings after walking three of the first four batters he faced Monday night. Steven Okert then got three outs before Alimber Santa made his major league debut and retired the final six hitters to complete the Astros' 17th regular-season no-hitter — four of them combined efforts — in a 9-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

«The first inning, you never thought that this was going to be the outcome of the game,» manager Joe Espada said. «Imai, he continued to compete.… He continued to pound the zone, he fought through it. Six strong innings, and then the rest is history.»

It was the first no-hitter in the major leagues since Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relievers combined for a 12-0 win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 4, 2024. No pitcher has tossed a complete-game no-hitter since Blake Snell for the San Francisco Giants against Cincinnati on Aug. 2, 2024.

The 630 days between no-hitters was the longest drought across MLB since 2004-06 (841 days).

The 23-year-old Santa fired two perfect innings to finish it and became the first pitcher since 1900 to play any role in a no-hitter during his big league debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

«Yeah, there was some adrenaline,» Santa said through an interpreter. «I was aware of the no-hitter, but I was just trying to calm myself down from the bullpen.»

Ronel Blanco tossed the previous no-hitter for the Astros in a 10-0 victory over Toronto on April 1, 2024, which also marked Espada's first win as manager. In fact, Houston has authored three of the past seven and five of the last 11 major league no-hitters