It took less than a week for Major League Baseball to see its first no-hitter of the season. Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco, in just his 8th career start, tossed the 17th no-hitter in Astros history, and the first since August 9th of 2023.
After walking George Springer to start the game, few could have predicted what was to come for the journeyman 30 year old. Filling in for the injured Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy, Blanco helped the Astros become only the 4th team in MLB history to get their first win of the season via a no-hitter.
“It’s been a very long road traveled for me,” Blanco said via a translator after the game. “A lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of falls, a lot of me getting back up. But I think all of that has been worth it for me to be able to get to this moment.”
“I see it as a great blessing, a great blessing for me and my family,” he continued. “With the arrival of my daughter I see it as a life-changing experience and I dedicate this to my family and my daughter.”
The Dominican right hander and his family welcomed a daughter into the world less than a week prior, making it quite the whirlwind week at the Blanco household.
“I couldn’t be any happier for the way today turned out,” Manager Joe Espada said.
Blanco needed only 105 pitches to earn the victory, as Houston piled up 10 runs on offence thanks in large part to 5 home runs on the day from Kyle Tucker (2), Yainer Diaz (2) and Jeremy Pena (1). The Santiago native averaged 93.6mph on his fastball, while mixing in a steady dose of changeups, sliders and curveballs to navigate the Blue Jays lineup with relative ease.
Blanco had never lasted more than 6 innings in his professional career prior to Monday night.
The Astros and Jays continue their 3 game series Tuesday at 8:10pm ET.
Photo: Adam Baker. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.