Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai reacts in the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai (center, right) joins the celebration with pitcher Alimber Santa (center) after the final out of a combined no-hitter against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai (45) gets a visit at the mound from first baseman Christian Walker (8) after walking the first two batters he faced during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai throws to the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai looks on between pitches to the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai throws to the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai is greeted in the dugout after pitching to the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
ARLINGTON — Two batters into the bottom of Monday’s first inning, Houston Astros pitching coach Josh Miller emerged from the visitors’ dugout at Globe Life Field and made for the mound, a sight that in no way portended the events to follow.
Ten pitches from Tatsuya Imai indicated erraticism. Imai sprayed his four-seam fastball up and away to two Texas Rangers left-handed hitters. Sliders missed the strike zone badly. Back-to-back walks echoed command issues that have dogged him.
“I just wanted to check on him,” Miller said. “He was doing a lot of stuff with his hands, like he didn’t have grip or he didn’t have feel.”
Article continues below this ad
A bigger issue, Imai said later, was the rhythm of his delivery. The right-hander felt “unbalanced” in the first inning of his sixth MLB start, like his “timing was off,” when Miller arrived with an interpreter for a proverbial pause.
‘SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL’: How three Astros pitchers no-hit the Rangers.
“He told me, ‘Just keep attacking the zone,’” Imai said, through his interpreter.
Lapses therein reflected in the 8.31 ERA that Imai compiled over his first five outings with the Astros, a rocky start to a sweeping transition. Issues with control and adjustments curtailed several of his earlier starts in Imai’s introduction to a new league and surroundings.
Article continues below this ad
What unfolded Monday marked the most encouraging step yet in that process for Imai and a Houston team that signed the Japanese right-hander to a three-year deal in January. Imai endured a shaky first inning, reversed course and authored the first 18 outs of a combined no-hitter.
“That first inning, you would have never thought that was going to be the outcome of the game,” Astros manager Joe Espada said after the 18th no-hitter in the franchise’s history. “But I tip my hat to Imai. He pitched. He continued to compete. … He continued to pound the zone. He fought through it, six strong innings. And the rest is history.”
History, in this case, was the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball since Sept. 2024, ending the longest stretch of days without one since 2004-06, per ESPN. The Astros have thrown five of the last 11 MLB no-hitters, three of those as combined efforts, perhaps none as unexpected as Monday’s.
BY THE NUMBERS: Inside Monday’s no-hitter
For Imai, it marked his first time completing six innings in an MLB outing, a modest milestone magnified by the end result and how he arrived there. In his third Astros start, Imai did not escape the first inning. Monday initially hinted at a repeat. Imai averted it.
Article continues below this ad
In his visit, Miller suggested Imai try a two-seam fastball grip he’d used two outings earlier. Imai tried it for two pitches that also sailed. But a 2-2 slider induced a groundball by Brandon Nimmo and a double play. Imai issued a third walk to Ezequiel Duran before Evan Carter flied out to end the inning.
Imai threw 24 pitches in the first. Just nine were strikes. But his second inning began a pivot. Imai threw 66% strikes in his final five innings. He allowed one baserunner in that span, a fourth-inning walk to Nimmo, who was also erased by a double-play grounder.
After the first, Imai said he was “able to adjust the timing, the rhythm and stuff, so that’s why I was able to perform well.” Miller cited a minor delivery adjustment but also simply a more aggressive approach.
HISTORY LESSON: A look back at the Astros’ 18 no hitters
“His front side, glove (arm) has been a focus of his for the last couple of weeks, trying to keep it a little bit more stable and connected,” Miller said. “But ultimately he just used his pitches and got in the box enough and it was good.”
Article continues below this ad
Imai retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced. He needed 73 pitches to navigate his final five innings, a much quicker pace than his adventurous first. Some sharp defense aided him. Shortstop Jeremy Peña took a potential hit from Joc Pederson with a sliding backhand play in the third inning. Jake Meyers ran down two flyballs to deep left-center field in the fifth.
“Before being one of the Astros, someone told me that if the ball goes to center field, he’s going to catch everything,” Imai said of Meyers. “Today that happened, so I’m really glad.”
Seven of 14 balls the Rangers put in play against Imai were hard-hit, with an exit velocity above 95 mph, and he induced just six whiffs on 39 swings while recording two strikeouts. His outing still built upon his rain-shortened start last week in Minnesota in which he did not walk a batter over 4⅔ innings.
{
“__type”: “devHubFreeformEmbed”,
“__id”: “Datawrapper”,
“__fallbackImage”: “https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/nhOP1/mobile.png”,
“__data”: {
“datawrapper_id”: “nhOP1”
}
}
“It’s weird to say, but his last outing he was much sharper than he was today,” Miller said. “He executed his pitches very well, he gave up a couple homers that drug his line a little bit before the rain delay. He threw the ball really well against (the Twins). Today, I think it was more up and down. And he made pitches when he had to today instead of executing on a consistent level like he did against Minnesota.”
Article continues below this ad
That, in itself, had to mark progress in Imai’s foray into MLB. So, too, must being part of a no-hitter. Imai did throw eight no-hit innings in a game for the Seibu Lions last year in NPB. He recalled also throwing a no-hitter in middle school. Monday played out on a different stage.
“Him included, everyone knew what he was capable of,” Meyers said. “And to see him go out there and execute like that, go out there and compete and execute, it was awesome.”
Imai spent the final three innings of the gem he started as a spectator. Just before right-hander Alimber Santa finished it in his major-league debut, Imai said, he had a question.
Houston
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
37
9
10
9
3
7
Peña ss
2
2
1
1
0
0
.246
b-Cole ph-lf
1
0
0
0
0
0
.157
Paredes 3b
4
0
0
0
0
0
.246
Shewmake 3b
1
0
1
0
0
0
.279
Alvarez dh
3
1
1
2
1
0
.301
Walker 1b
4
1
1
3
1
1
.265
Meyers cf
5
1
0
0
0
1
.211
Smith rf
4
1
1
0
0
1
.211
Dezenzo lf
2
1
0
0
1
2
.200
Matthews lf-2b
2
0
1
0
0
0
.205
Allen 2b-ss
5
1
2
2
0
2
.310
Vázquez c
4
1
2
1
0
0
.257
Texas
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
25
0
0
0
5
4
Pederson 1b-rf
3
0
0
0
1
0
.233
Osuna lf-cf
3
0
0
0
1
1
.292
Nimmo dh
2
0
0
0
2
1
.268
Duran 3b
2
0
0
0
1
1
.277
Carter cf
2
0
0
0
0
0
.163
a-Burger ph-1b
1
0
0
0
0
0
.240
Foscue 2b
3
0
0
0
0
0
.298
McCutchen rf-lf
3
0
0
0
0
1
.192
Jansen c
3
0
0
0
0
0
.173
Helman ss
3
0
0
0
0
0
.143
Houston
100
120
500_9
10
0
Texas
000
000
000_0
0
2
a-flied out for Carter in the 7th. b-grounded out for Peña in the 8th.
E_Helman 2 (2). LOB_Houston 8, Texas 3. 2B_Shewmake (3). HR_Alvarez (16), off Rocker; Walker (15), off Gray. RBIs_Alvarez 2 (33), Vázquez (17), Peña (4), Walker 3 (40), Allen 2 (4). SB_Peña (2), Smith (7). SF_Alvarez.
Runners left in scoring position_Houston 5 (Vázquez, Allen, Meyers 2, Walker); Texas 1 (Carter). RISP_Houston 5 for 16; Texas 0 for 2.
Runners moved up_Paredes, Walker, Nimmo. GIDP_Allen, Nimmo, Duran.
DP_Houston 2 (Allen, Peña, Walker; Allen, Peña, Walker); Texas 1 (Foscue, Burger).
Houston
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
Imai, W, 2-2
6
0
0
0
4
2
97
6.17
Okert
1
0
0
0
1
1
15
3.86
Santa
2
0
0
0
0
1
24
0.00
Texas
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
Rocker, L, 2-5
5
4
4
4
2
5
85
3.96
Gray
2
5
5
3
0
2
37
3.60
Martin
1
1
0
0
1
0
14
7.56
Haggerty
1
0
0
0
0
0
6
0.00
HBP_Rocker (Peña), Gray (Peña), Haggerty (Smith).
ABS Challenge_Imai (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Smith (Strike-Confirmed); Dezenzo (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Imai (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Nimmo (Strike-Confirmed).
Umpires_Home, Paul Clemons; First, Adrian Johnson; Second, Quinn Wolcott; Third, Ramon De Jesus.
T_2:37. A_36,180 (40,000).
“During the ninth inning, two outs, I asked the interpreter if we are going to the field even though it’s a combined no-hitter,” Imai said. “I was thinking it would be awkward if we got hit after two outs. But it was also Santa’s major-league debut and I think his family’s very proud of him. And I’m really glad that we got this ‘W.’”