Starting Nine: Mike Fiers No-Hitter

There have been five no-hitters so far this season. Some might say that the no-hitter has lost its value which the dominance of pitching these days.

That may be but the Astros (and Colt .45s) have only 11 no-hitters in just over 8000 games in franchise history. It's still specail to TCB, so we talked about it:

Subber10

"WOOOOO." -Rick Flair

Irish Pete

I just got back from a long bus ride... What happened?

CRPerry13

The crowd was really into it, especially starting in the eighth inning. My son was squirming in that "I'm so tired, I'm clinically insane" kind of way, but WE WEREN'T LEAVING. He'll thank me when he's older. Like, tomorrow. I was biting my nails through the last two innings, and couldn't wait for the Astros to just hit into some outs in the bottom of the eighth to find out if Fiers was coming back with 120 pitches. He did, and the place went nuts. He's got great stuff and he's under club control for another three seasons. Since the trade, I have been saying that Mike Fiers was the big get in this trade. I like Carlos Gomez, but Fiers is a very good starting pitcher. Glad he showed it tonight. That's one I'll remember forever.

Brian Stevenson

It was great for me. I jumped on the bandwagon during the 2004 and 2005 playoff runs and decided to stay on, despite the organization imploding immediately after. That means I'd never seen an Astros no-hitter, individual or combined, before tonight. I remember Oswalt flirting with it a couple of times, and maybe a few others, but it was awesome to finally get to see it, to hear Brownie call it...just great.

TRosser92

I'm just glad I've been on the Fiers bandwagon since the TCB Fantasy League draft. I mentioned Fiers being a possible target on the podcast, but didn't expect to actually get him, but I was stoked when the Astros acquired him. Living in Austin I wasn't able to watch any of the game, but listening to Robert Ford make the call was incredible. I'm #stoked.

JasonMarbach

Believe it or not, in 22 years of fandom, this is the first Astros no-hitter I've actually watched. I remember vaguely Darryl Kile's, and I of course remember our combined no-hitter against the Yankees, but this was the first one I actually watched. I was beside myself, screaming at the television, stomping my feet and vacillating wildly between laughter and hysteria. Perhaps hysterical laughter. I don't know. All I know is, Mike Fiers threw the eleventh no hitter in Astros history...and I scared my dog as a result.

Irish Pete

I'm kidding of course, this was great news to get onto a steaming hot bus and read about on the way home. The fact that it was vs the quarter billion dollar payroll Dodgers by a guy Luhnow acquired at the deadline in a pennant race is just phenomenal. What a great night!

erniebreakfast

This would be the third no-hitter I have seen live. I have listened on the radio to two more (thanks Dad for waking me up to listen to them when I was a little kid). I have been to playoff games and been to games in the middle of a tight pennant race.

That being said, the only two games I have ever had this level of excitement from where the two series clinching wins in the 2005 playoffs. I was glued to the screen. I had about five text conversations going on at once talking about it. It was cathartic. A moment where I could throw away the years of butt slide episodes on and off the field and say "look at that! Those are my guys!" Congrats Mike Fiers.

soxandstros

I noticed in the 4th inning that he hadn't given up a hit. I told myself to see if he could get through the 6th, and then I would take it seriously. By the end of the 6th he was on a roll. Crowd started to get amped when he punched out the last two batters to end the 7th.

From the 7th inning on Hinch had relievers ready in case Fiers gave up a hit. In the 8th he fanned all three batters and the crowd was going berserk. It was even louder in the ninth, with the entire crowd standing and cheering. The noise at the end when he struck out the final batter was incredible.

That was the first time I've ever seen a no-hitter in person and it was an amazing night.

David Spradley

It's been a special season for the Astros, so why not throw in a no-hitter? The only other cherry on-top that I'm asking for this season is a deep playoff run or a World Series title. Fiers had a great night, and dominated one of the best offenses in baseball. If he can keep throwing the way he did last night, I just might get my wish.