HOUSTON — Ronel Blanco, making his first start of the season, baffled the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, pitching a no-hitter in the Houston Astros‘ 10-0 victory.
Blanco, coming off a modest 2-1 season in which he finished with a 4.50 ERA, ignited an Astros’ club that was coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, giving Houston its first victory of the season. He threw 105 pitches, posting seven strikeouts along the way.
It’s the eighth time in franchise history that the Blue Jays have been no-hit, and continued a topsy-turvy start for the Toronto offense. In a four-game opening season vs. the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto scored 17 runs in its two wins, and just three in two losses at Tropicana Field.
Blanco, 30, a native of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, appeared in 17 games for the Astros last season, and seven in his rookie year of 2022. Monday’s no-hitter was just his eighth start in the major leagues.
The Astros led 7-0 after early home runs by Kyle Tucker, Yainer Diaz and Jeremy Pen. Houston finished with five long balls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.