Houston’s first hit finally came via a chip shot - 39 degrees, 70.7 mph - into left field by pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz, the first batter faced by reliever Tyler Matzek. Backed by just two runs, Anderson and four relievers carried the no-hitter into the eighth and settled for a two-hit shutout, giving the Braves a 2–1 World Series lead.
That was doubly true on a raw and rainy night in Georgia and with a rested bullpen behind him. But even from the start, anybody who has watched this postseason - where starters have averaged a hair over four innings per game - and understands the impact of the year-over-year workload increases that these pitchers are shouldering following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season could have told you that he wouldn’t get a chance to finish the job.
On some level, the Braves’ Ian Anderson was vying to be the third in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night, he held the Astros hitless through five innings.
Only two pitchers have ever thrown a postseason no-hitter: the Yankees’ Don Larsen with his perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, and the Phillies’ Roy Halladay in the 2010 Division Series opener.
