The Houston Astros avoided a dreaded elimination game in Philadelphia with a huge win in game four on Wednesday night. Starter Cristian Javier continued his late season dominance and the Astros bats came alive in a 5-run fifth and Javier and three relievers combined to throw the second World Series no-hitter ever to knot the series at two games apiece. The game four matchup will be Astros ace Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75/1-0, 7.20) taking on Noah Syndergaard (10-10,3.94/0-0, 1.69) of the Phillies. First pitch of this critical game five is set for 8:03pm EST.
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Astros manager Dusty Baker had a choice for game four; he could have come back with game one starter and team ace Justin Verlander on normal rest after the rainout or he could have stuck with Cristian Javier, who has been excellent down the stretch despite only getting one start in the playoffs thus far. Baker rolled the dice with Javier. Javier rewarded his manager with a dominant performance. He pitched six no-hit innings and struck out 9 batters in another amazing performance. In his two post season starts, Javier has thrown 12 innings and allowed just two hits and no runs. The Astros lineup gave Javier all the runs he needed with five runs in the fifth inning. Alex Bregman had the big hit with a bases loaded double to break it open. Baker used three relievers to finish off the no-hitter, just the third no-hitter in postseason history. Astros pitching finished with 14 strikeouts in the historic performance.
Keep fightin'. pic.twitter.com/FpNFS95cug
— Houston Astros (@astros) November 3, 2022
The Astros took the heart out of the Phillies in game four, silencing the crazy Philly fanatics with a big fifth inning. Baker's gamble now has Justin Verlander in line to give his team a 3-2 series lead heading back to Houston. In game one, Verlander was steamrolling along before fumbling a sure-fire double play on a soft-liner back to the mound. The Phillies plugged away and tied the game and kept Verlander winless in his World Series career. In eight career starts in the World Series, this eventual Hall-of-Famer has gone 0-6 with an ERA of 6.07. He has a chance in game five to erase all his past Fall Classic struggles with a big performance.