The Houston Astros bounced back from a tough Game 3 loss in historic fashion, throwing a combined no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series to even things up at two games apiece.
Cristian Javier got the Astros through six innings and Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly each threw an inning to finish the job and knot up the series.
However, given that it was a combined no-hitter, some fans and analysts are questioning the legitimacy of it, including Jeff Passan of ESPN, who stated on Twitter months ago that a combined no-hitter is to a no-hitter what boneless wings are to chicken wings.
Passan retweeted this tweet and commented that the same holds true in the World Series.
Even in the World Series this holds. https://t.co/7GIO8D3CTm
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 3, 2022
Passan Criticizes Combined No-No
Love them or hate them, the Astros accomplished some rare history last night, becoming the first team in postseason and World Series history to throw a combined no-hitter.
Some might say that because it was a combined no-hitter, it loses some significance.
Perhaps there’s some truth to that, but what the Astros did is still quite impressive, given that it had never been done in postseason history prior to last night.
It’s an interesting take by Passan for sure.
Most can probably agree that when one pitcher throws a no-hitter all by himself, it’s more exciting, given that it’s a personal achievement as much as it is a team achievement.
But that doesn’t make what happened in Game 4 any less impressive or important.
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