Cristian Javier struck out 13 and didn’t allow a hit in seven innings against the Yankees on Saturday in New York and two relievers finished off the no-hitter as Houston won, 3-0. Noah K. Murray/Associated Press

NEW YORK — Cristian Javier, Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly combined on the first no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 19 years, shutting down the best team in baseball and pitching the Houston Astros to a 3-0 victory on Saturday.

Javier (5-3), a 25-year-old right-hander without a complete game in 84 professional starts, was clearly tired when Manager Dusty Baker brought in a reliever to start the eighth. Javier set career highs for strikeouts (13) and pitches (115), and he matched his longest start with seven innings.

Pressly, who gave up a tying three-run homer to Aaron Hicks in a 7-6 loss Thursday night, retired three straight batters in the ninth for his 15th save in 18 chances. After Giancarlo Stanton hit into a game-ending groundout, the Astros walked onto the field and gathered near the mound for a brief celebration.

Rookie J.J. Matijevic gave Javier a lead in the seventh when he hit his second big league homer, driving a fastball from Gerrit Cole (6-2) into the right-field second deck. Jose Altuve homered into the left-field second deck in the eighth against Michael King, and pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel added an RBI single off Lucas Luetge in the ninth.

In a matchup of the teams with the top two records in the American League, New York didn’t come close to a hit before a silenced crowd of 45,076. The major league-best Yankees lost consecutive games for the first time since May 28-29 against Tampa Bay, getting their only runners on three walks and an error.

Javier, who lowered his ERA to 2.73, was starting because Jake Odorizzi is hurt. Javier began 12 of his first 18 batters with a strike but began his last five with a ball. His 50.9% first-strike percentage entering was 155th among 157 pitchers who faced 150 or more plate appearances this season.

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“I feel really happy, really proud right now for this moment that God has given me,” Javier said via interpreter.

He walked Josh Donaldson on a full-count fastball with two outs in the first, then retired 17 in a row until Donaldson reached when third baseman Alex Bregman threw past first for an error on a one-out grounder in the seventh. Stanton took a called third strike and Gleyber Torres struck out swinging.

Neris walked two in the eighth, then retired Joey Gallo on a flyout to the right-field warning track and got Aaron Judge to ground into an inning-ending forceout.

“I said, ‘I have to get it for my team, I have to get it for Javy,’” said Neris, who had never pitched in a no-hitter before.

The no-hitter was the third in the major leagues this year after five New York Mets combined against Philadelphia on April 29 and Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels accomplished the feat against Tampa Bay on May 10.

Houston’s no-hitter was its 14th, the first since Justin Verlander against Toronto on Sept. 1, 2019.

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New York was no-hit for just the eighth time, Houston had been the previous team to do it, across the street at the old stadium on June 11, 2003. Roy Oswalt strained his right groin after his second pitch of the second inning, and Pete Munro (2 2/3 innings), Kirk Saarloos (1 1/3), Brad Lidge (two), Octavio Dotel (one) and Billy Wagner (one) followed in an 8-0 win.

ORIOLES 6, WHITE SOX 2: Jorge Mateo homered and doubled to lead the Orioles over the White Sox in Chicago, giving Baltimore its first four-game winning streak this season.

Lance Lynn (1-1) retired eight straight batters before Mateo lifted a solo homer just over the left-center fence to put Baltimore ahead in the third.

Baltimore coughed up its advantage on two errors in the bottom of the inning, but Mateo struck back by belting his 10th double off the left field wall. He scored to make it 2-1 on the next at-bat, when Leury García erred on Cedric Mullins’ infield grounder.

ATHLETICS 9, ROYALS 7: Tony Kemp hit a two-run homer, Seth Brown and Sean Murphy combined for four RBI, and Oakland won in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kemp hit his second home run of the season in the eighth inning to wrap up a 3-for-5 afternoon.

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Brown hit a single in the first and a fielder’s choice in the third. Murphy had an RBI single in the seventh. Nick Allen and Jonah Bride collected RBIs during a two-run fourth inning.

The A’s tied a season high with 14 hits. Oakland had the leadoff man reach base in six innings. Four of the six were leadoff doubles, and all came around to score.

INTERLEAGUE

RAYS 6, PIRATES 5: Isaac Paredes hit a solo homer in the eighth inning and a two-run single with two outs in the ninth, sending Tampa Bay to a victory over Pittsburgh in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Ji-Man Choi and Vidal Bruján reached on two-out walks before Jonathan Aranda’s pinch-hit single loaded the bases against David Bednar (3-2). Paredes then hit an opposite-field liner to right for his game-ending single.

Paredes got the Rays within one in the eighth with his team-leading 10th homer — all over his last 25 games.

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Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2) worked two scoreless innings for the win in Tampa Bay’s fourth straight one-run game. It also was a Rays-record 11th consecutive game decided by two or fewer runs.

RANGERS 3, NATIONALS 2: Adolis García homered leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Texas a victory over Washington in Arlington, Texas.

The Cuban slugger matched Corey Seager for the team lead with 15 homers when he drilled a 2-2 slider from reliever Kyle Finnegan (2-2) into Washington’s bullpen, just to the left of the hitting background in center field.

Nelson Cruz hit a tying two-run homer for the Nationals against for his former team in the sixth inning after Nathaniel Lowe had given Texas the lead with a two-run shot in the second.

BREWERS 5, BLUE JAYS 4: Corbin Burnes pitched into the eighth inning, Andrew McCutchen and Mike Brosseau homered, and Milwaukee won at home.

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner extended his winning streak to a season-high three games, but he wasn’t as crisp as in a 2-0 win over the Cardinals on Monday.

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In his first career start against Toronto, Burnes (6-4) allowed home runs to Matt Chapman and Bo Bichette and an RBI groundout by Cavan Biggio. He struck nine and walked two, then turned over a 5-3 lead with runners at first and second and two outs in the eighth to Devin Williams, who fanned Alejandro Kirk.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CARDINALS 5, CUBS 3: Iván Herrera hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for his first career RBI and St. Louis won at home.

Juan Yepez lined a one-out double to the left field wall off Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2) in the eighth, and pinch-runner Edmundo Sosa advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring the go-ahead run on Herrera’s fly.

Harrison Bader advanced to second on Herrera’s out and scored on Tommy Edman’s single to right field to extend the lead to 5-3.

METS 5, MARLINS 3: Pete Alonso hit two leadoff homers, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning, and New York won in Miami.

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Alonso’s home run over the left-center field wall against Miami reliever Jimmy Yacabonis (0-1) snapped a 3-3 tie. It was Alonso’s NL-leading 22nd homer of the season and 14th multi-homer game of his career

Brandon Nimmo’s third hit, an RBI double in the ninth, increased the Mets’ lead. Francisco Lindor doubled and singled and Starling Marte had two hits for the NL East leaders.

NOTES

PHILLIES: Mark Appel is a big league ballplayer nine years after he was selected No. 1 overall in the amateur draft.

Appel has been promoted by the Philadelphia Phillies. The right-hander, who turns 31 on July 15, went 5-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 19 appearances for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

“Completely overwhelmed. I have so many thoughts I want to share but can’t find the words, so I’ll just say this: I’m thankful,” Appel posted on Twitter on Saturday.

“Today, I get to play a game I love as a Major League Baseball player.”

Appel is stepping in for right-hander Connor Brogdon, who has been placed on the COVID-19-related injury list.

DODGERS: Los Angeles right-hander Daniel Hudson was placed on the IL with a season-ending torn left ACL.


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