TheHouston Astros (formerly known as theHouston Colt .45s from 1962–1964) are aMajor League Baseballfranchise based inHouston, Texas. Formed in 1962, they play in theAmerican League West division (formerly in theNational League Central division until 2012). Pitchers for the Astros have thrown seventeenno-hitters in franchise history, the most of all of MLB's expansion teams added since 1961. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when apitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings", though one or morebatters "may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference".[1] No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form.[2] Noperfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been thrown in Astros history.[3] As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."[1]
Don Nottebart threw the first no-hitter in Astros history on May 17, 1963; the most recent no-hitter was thrown byRonel Blanco on April 1, 2024. Only 1 left-handed starting pitcher (Framber Valdez) has thrown a no-hitter in franchise history. The longest interval between no-hitters was 12 years, 2 months and 10 days from the combined no-hitter led byRoy Oswalt on June 11, 2003, and that thrown by Fiers on August 21, 2015. The shortest interval was just 29 days from the combined no-hitter led bySanchez on August 3, 2019, andVerlander's no-hitter on September 1. They no-hit theCincinnati Reds, theLos Angeles Dodgers, theNew York Yankees, thePhiladelphia Phillies, and theToronto Blue Jays the most, which occurred twice. There are three no-hitters in which the team allowed at least a run, by Nottebart in 1963, Johnson in 1964 (which was a 9-inning home loss), and Kile in 1993. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was by Wilson (in 1969), who allowed eight. Twelve no-hitters were thrown at home, and five on the road. The Astros have thrown three no-hitters in April, two in May, three in June, one in July, three in August, four in September, and one in November. Of the seventeen no-hitters, four have been won by a score of 2–0, more common than any other result. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter was a 10–0 win by Blanco in 2024. The smallest margin of victory was 2–0 wins by Wilson in 1967,Mike Scott in 1986, Verlander in 2019, and Valdez in 2023.
Jose Altuve holds the modern-day record of most no-hitters participated in with one team at seven.
Theumpire is also an integral part of any no-hitter. The task of the umpire in a baseball game is to make any decision “which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out… [the umpire’s judgment on such matters] is final.”[4] Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining thestrike zone, which "is defined as that area overhomeplate(sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap."[4] These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter.[5] A different umpire presided over each of the franchise’s seventeen no-hitters.
Themanager is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager include determining the starting rotation as well as batting order and defensive lineup every game. Nine different managers have been involved in the franchise’s seventeen no-hitters.
| ¶ | Indicates aperfect game |
| § | Indicates game pitched in thepostseason |
| ^ | Team who threw no-hitter lost the game |
| £ | Pitcher was left-handed |
| * | Member of theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
| # | Date | Pitcher | Final score | Base- runners | Opponent | Catcher | Plate umpire | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 17, 1963 | Don Nottebart | 4–1 | 4 | Philadelphia Phillies | John Bateman | Ed Vargo |
| [6] |
| 2 | April 23, 1964 | Ken Johnson | 0–1^ | 4 | Cincinnati Reds | Jerry Grote | Augie Donatelli |
| [7] |
| 3 | June 18, 1967 | Don Wilson(1) | 2–0 | 3 | Atlanta Braves | Dave Adlesh | Bill Williams |
| [8] |
| 4 | May 1, 1969 | Don Wilson(2) | 4–0 | 8 | @Cincinnati Reds | Don Bryant | Satch Davidson |
| [9] |
| 5 | July 9, 1976 | Larry Dierker | 6–0 | 4 | Montreal Expos | Ed Herrmann | John McSherry | [10] | |
| 6 | April 7, 1979 | Ken Forsch | 6–0 | 2 | Atlanta Braves | Alan Ashby(1) | Murray Strey |
| [11] |
| 7 | September 26, 1981 | Nolan Ryan* | 5–0 | 3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Alan Ashby(2) | Bruce Froemming |
| [12] |
| 8 | September 25, 1986 | Mike Scott | 2–0 | 3 | San Francisco Giants | Alan Ashby(3) | Bob Engel |
| [13] |
| 9 | September 8, 1993 | Darryl Kile | 7–1 | 1 | New York Mets | Scott Servais | Ed Montague |
| [14] |
| 10 | June 11, 2003 | Roy Oswalt(1 IP) Peter Munro(2.2 IP) Kirk Saarloos(1.1 IP) Brad Lidge(2 IP) Octavio Dotel(1 IP) Billy Wagner£*(1 IP) | 8–0 | 6 | @New York Yankees | Brad Ausmus | Mike Fichter |
| [15] |
| 11 | August 21, 2015 | Mike Fiers | 3–0 | 3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Jason Castro | John Tumpane |
| [16] |
| 12 | August 3, 2019 | Aaron Sanchez(6 IP) Will Harris(1 IP) Joe Biagini(1 IP) Chris Devenski(1 IP) | 9–0 | 4 | Seattle Mariners | Martín Maldonado | Jim Wolf |
| [17] |
| 13 | September 1, 2019 | Justin Verlander | 2–0 | 1 | @Toronto Blue Jays | Robinson Chirinos | Paul Emmel |
| [18] |
| 14 | June 25, 2022 | Cristian Javier(7 IP) Héctor Neris(1 IP) Ryan Pressly(1 IP) | 3–0 | 4 | @New York Yankees | Martín Maldonado (2) | Alex Tosi |
| [19] |
| 15 | November 2, 2022 | Cristian Javier(6 IP) Bryan Abreu(1 IP) Rafael Montero(1 IP) Ryan Pressly(1 IP) | 5–0§ | 3 | @Philadelphia Phillies | Christian Vázquez | Tripp Gibson |
| [20] |
| 16 | August 1, 2023 | Framber Valdez£ | 2–0 | 1 | Cleveland Guardians | Martín Maldonado (3) | Quinn Wolcott |
| [21] |
| 17 | April 1, 2024 | Ronel Blanco | 10–0 | 2 | Toronto Blue Jays | Yainer Díaz | Charlie Ramos |
| [22] |
