Ronel Blanco Grounds the Jays For First Career No-Hitter
Player of the Week: Ronel Blanco's No-Hitter is a No-Brainer
Ronel Blanco
Ronel De Jesus Blanco
Houston Astros
56
30 years old
180cm
Dominican Republic
Pitcher
Blanco Retired 26 Hitters in a Row During His First Career No-Hitter
It is fair to assume that those who bet online did not have Houston’s Ronel Blanco as the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter for the 2024 MLB season.
The Ronel Blanco no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays gave the Astros their first win of the season on Monday. It was his first victory since June 30, 2023.
Houston, among the favorites in the World Series odds, began the season by losing all four of its games against the New York Yankees. But they’re back in the win column now.
Here’s a look at the player who earned MLB Player of the Week honors.
An Unlikely History Maker
Before the Ronel Blanco no-hitter, the MLB stats for the 30-year-old righty had Blanco posting a 2-1 record in seven career starts.
Blanco hadn’t pitched more than six innings in his first 24 MLB games.
Things didn’t start well as he walked the leadoff hitter George Springer before striking out two of the next three batters.
He was given the early lead on home runs by Kyle Tucker and catcher Yanier Diaz.
Blanco retired 26 hitters in a row before another walk to Springer with two outs in the ninth inning. He got Vlad Guerrero Jr. to ground out to end the game.
In the first five games of the season, Blanco is the second Houston starting pitcher to have a scoreless start.
Cristian Javier surrendered four hits and no runs with six strikeouts against the Yankees.
Hunter Brown allowed just one run in four innings with five strikeouts in his first start of the season.
Framber Valdez and J.P. France each allowed three runs in their first starting assignment of the season.
The Astros are without an injured Justin Verlander. Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers, Penn Murfee, Luis Garcia, and Kendall Graveman are other Houston pitchers on the injured list.
When it comes to the MLB matchups, Blanco could face the Astros’ division rivals and reigning World Series champions next: the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Blanco pitched against the Rangers three times during the 2023 season. He allowed nine hits, seven runs, and four earned in eight innings of work with six strikeouts and five walks.
The 7 p.m. ET game on Sunday is set to air on ESPN.
A Look At the Numbers
During the Ronel Blanco no-hitter, Blanco threw 105 pitches as he went over 100 pitches for the first time at the major league level.
Blanco struck out seven, got 12 ground-ball outs, and eight more hitters to fly out. Of his 105 pitches, 73 went for strikes including 17 called strikes.
At one point, Blanco had first-pitch strikes on 15 of 18 batters after having to pitch behind in the count in the first inning.
Vlad Guerrero Jr., one of the top contenders in the American League Most Valuable Player odds, struck out three times while Daulton Varsho struck out twice.
Kyle Tucker led the Astros with a pair of home runs and four RBIs, Jeremy Pena homered and drove in three runs in the 10-0 win as Houston scored more runs than the Astros had in the final two games of the four-game series with the Yankees.
Houston wraps up the three-game series with the Blue Jays on Tuesday and Wednesday before going on the road to meet up with the Texas Rangers. According to the MLB lines, the Astros are priced at -150 to win Tuesday’s matchup.
Paying His Dues
Blanco has been with the Astros organization since 2016. He pitched in 202 games in the minor leagues, 168 of them coming in relief. After posting a 41-23 record in the minors with 38 saves, Blanco got a chance with the Astros.
He pitched in seven games with the Astros in 2022 and 17 more in 2023.
Blanco was 7-4 with a 3.68 ERA in AAA Sugar Land in 2023 as he started 13 of 15 games. With just 49 hits allowed and 81 strikeouts in 73.1 innings, he got the chance with the Astros.
Joining the Club
Blanco threw the 17th no-hitter in the history of the Houston Astros. This is the third season in a row that the Astros have a no-hitter.
Cristian Javier was a part of combined no-hitters in the regular season and in the postseason in 2022. Framber Valdez had the most recent no-hitter for the Astros, holding Cleveland without a hit on Aug. 1, 2023.
Don Nottebart tossed the franchise’s first no-hitter against the Phillies in 1963. Don Wilson is the only Houston pitcher with a pair of solo no-hitters.
Ken Forsch, Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Darryl Kile, and Justin Verlander are some of the pitchers who have tossed no-hitters for the Astros.
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