Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Cristian Javier kept returning New York Yankees players to the dugout quickly and allowed no hits for the team with the best record in Major League Baseball.
The Houston Astros starter combined with Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly to muzzle the Yankees and handed them a scoreless, hitless run in a 3-0 victory on Saturday.
This is the first time since June 11, 2003 that the Yankees have failed to blacken the score sheet. Six Astros pitchers had taken their measure at the time.
The Yankees entered the game with a 52-19 record (.732 average), the best record in MLB history for a team without a run or hit after a minimum of 50 games.
“The hard truth is that we were outshot and outshot,” Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole said. It’s a magical day for them.”
Javier (5-3), the 25-year-old right-hander, is in the starting rotation since Jake Odorizzi is injured. He set several personal bests, including for most batters struck out (13) and total pitches (115).
He also gave up one walk in seven innings of work.
It’s the third game without a run or hit of the season. Five New York Mets pitchers shut out the Philadelphia Phillies on April 29, while Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels pulled off the feat against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10.
The Yankees suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since May 28-29 against the Rays.
The Astros posted their 14th game without a run or hit in their history and the first time since Justin Verlander neutralized the Toronto Blue Jays on September 1, 2019.
