Taijuan Walker gets shelled as Philadelphia Phillies held to 3 hits in loss to Astros
Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs and rookie Spencer Arrighetti carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning as the Houston Astros routed the Philadelphia Phillies and Taijuan Walker 10-0 on Wednesday.
Arrighetti, a 24-year-old right-hander, shut down the NL East-leading Phillies through seven innings and lost his no-hitter in the eighth inning when leadoff hitter Austin Hays reached on an infield single. Third baseman Shay Whitcomb just missed gloving the ball, and shortstop Jeremy Peña couldn't throw out Hays after fielding the ball deep in the hole at shortstop. Whitcomb entered as a defensive replacement after Alex Bregman was hit in the head by an 88-mph pitch from Michael Mercado in the seventh inning.
Arrighetti (7-11) was lifted with two outs in the eighth, finishing with 11 strikeouts and four walks while allowing two hits in his longest outing as a professional in either the majors or minors.
"He was magnificent," Houston manager Joe Espada said.
He was trying to become the fourth pitcher in the big leagues to toss a no-hitter this season, joining teammate Ronel Blanco, who no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1. Bryan King worked 1 1/3 innings and combined with Arrighetti to limit the Phillies to three hits.
"Next pitch kind of mentality," he said of his key.
Alvarez hit the first of his three homers in the fourth inning off Walker, a two-run, opposite-field shot. He took Mercado out of the park in the seventh and eighth innings to finish with four hits and four RBIs. It was his third career three-homer game and ties Hall of Fame slugger Jeff Bagwell for most three-homer games in Astros history.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Espada said.
Chas McCormick also went deep for the AL West-leading Astros, who avoided a three-game sweep while winning for just the third time in nine games. Houston matched its season high with 18 hits.
Walker (3-6) was tagged for six runs on 13 hits in six innings. The Phillies have lost his last nine starts. The 32-year-old right-hander signed a four-year, $72 million deal prior to the 2023 season.
Manager Rob Thomson said the Phillies will have to decide whether to run Walker out there for his next start. Meantime, Walker felt like he made progress.
"I thought it was a step in the right direction with a lot of ground balls," he said.
Jose Altuve got Houston on the board in the first inning by stealing home. With runners on first and third, Walker threw to first to keep Peña close. First baseman Bryce Harper lost track of the speedy Altuve, who slid in past Harper's throw after the two-time MVP realized Altuve was running.
"That really set the tone for us," Espada said. "We needed a little spark and he did that."
Arrighetti took over from there, striking out four of the first five Phillies he faced. A sixth-round pick in the amateur draft, Arrighetti entered the game 6-11 with a 4.94 ERA and having allowed 112 hits in 116 2/3 innings. He was in great shape with his pitch count through seven innings, having thrown 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
Houston left fielder Mauricio Dubón kept the no-hit bid alive with a leaping catch of Brandon Marsh's fly ball against the wall for the final out of the seventh inning.
"I chalked it up to a home run as soon as it was off the bat," Arrighetti said. "Unbelievable."
Houston has 17 no-hitters in franchise history.
It was the worst home shutout loss for Phillies since Aug. 10, 2017, a 10-0 loss to the New York Mets.
UP NEXT
Astros: Host the Kansas City Royals for four games starting Thursday. RHP Brady Singer (9-9, 3.38) faces Houston's Hunter Brown (11-7, 3.72) in the opener.
Phillies: Open a four-game series against NL East rival Atlanta on Thursday. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (9-9, 3.51) starts for Philadelphia against RHP Charlie Morton (7-7, 4.24).
