Six Runs to Our M's, Then a No-Hitter? The League Is NOT Ready for That Kind of Wildness.

Okay, buddy, you are NOT gonna believe this one. Remember Tatsuya Imai, that Astros pitcher our M's absolutely LIT UP earlier this season? Yeah, well, get this: The dude just combined with two relievers to throw the first no-hitter in MLB in almost two years! Like, REALLY. They blanked the Rangers 9-0 at Globe Life Field last night. It's wild, it's frustrating, and honestly, it makes you scratch your head about how baseball works sometimes.

That Guy We Owned Just Made History

Seriously, how does this even happen? Imai, who signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Astros this winter, was straight-up struggling big time. He had a brutal 7.27 ERA after three starts, ended up on the injured list with arm fatigue, especially after that disaster on April 10 in Seattle. Remember that? Three runs, four walks, and he got only one out. Woof. Then he came back on May 12 and gave up SIX runs in four innings against our Mariners! Six! At T-Mobile Park! That was just over a week ago! But last night? After walking the first two batters and looking like he was gonna implode, his pitching coach Josh Miller must've said some magic words. Imai found his groove, got a double play grounder, and then only allowed two more batters to reach base in the next 17. He tossed six scoreless innings. Six! From *that* guy! Then relievers Steven Okert threw a scoreless seventh, and Alimber Santa, making his Major League debut, polished off the final two innings to seal the deal.

No-Hitter History and That Annoying Offense

So yeah, this was the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball since September 4, 2024, when the Cubs had Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson, and Porter Hodge do it against the Pirates. And for the Astros, this was their 18th no-hitter in franchise history, and their first since Ronel Blanco no-hit the Blue Jays on April 1, 2024. It was their fifth combined no-hitter too, actually. The last combined one was in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series against the Phillies, with Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly all contributing. And OF COURSE, their offense was humming too. Jeremy Peña led off the game with a hit by pitch, stole second, and scored on a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly. Alvarez then absolutely hammered his 16th homer of the season off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker in the fourth, for a 2-0 lead. Then a perfectly executed squeeze bunt from Christian Vázquez and an RBI single by Peña made it 4-0 in the fifth. And to pour salt in the wound, red-hot Christian Walker added a three-run homer in the seventh. That was his fourth homer in three games, his 15th for the season, and gave him 40 RBIs for the year. Annoying, right? Alright, enough about them. We've got our own battles! Our boys in green and blue just dropped a tough one to the Royals, 8-6, out there in Kansas City. A tough road loss, but early season form is all about shaking off these bumps. We gotta bounce back, keep that focus. Our M's need to keep hitting, keep that energy going strong. Every game counts, every win builds. Let's get 'em next time, Emerald City!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.