Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies No-Hit by Cristian Javier and Astros Relievers in Game 4 Loss

A night after homering five times, the Phillies were no-hit by Cristian Javier and three relievers as the Astros evened the World Series and ensured it will return to Houston.

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Phillies sluggers Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos react to being no hit by Houston Astros pitching in Game 4 of the World Series Wednesday night. They are looking toward Game 5 and beyond as the World Series is now tied. John Clark reports for NBC10.

Phillies no-hit by Cristian Javier and 3 relievers as Astros even World Series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies have won two World Series in their 139-year history. They locked up both of them in their home ballpark, Veterans Stadium, where Tug McGraw jumped for joy in 1980, and Citizens Bank Park, where Brad Lidge fell to his knees and looked heavenward in 2008.

If the Phils are going to win their third World Series in franchise history, they'll have to do it on the road.

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And they'll also have to get some hits because they didn't get any in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

The day after smacking five home runs in Game 3, the Phillies were no-hit by four Houston Astros pitchers in Game 4.

The Phils lost the game, 5-0. The series is tied at two games apiece. Game 5, the final game of the season at Citizens Bank Park, will be played Thursday night. Noah Syndergaard will start for the Phillies against Justin Verlander.

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Friday is an off day. Game 6 will be played in Houston on Saturday night and Game 7, if necessary, will be played Sunday night in Houston.

The Astros won Game 4 in convincing fashion, tagging two of the Phillies' best, starter Aaron Nola and reliever Jose Alvarado, for five runs in the fifth inning.

That was plenty of run support for right-hander Cristian Javier, who held the Phillies hitless for six innings. Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly completed the no-hitter, just the second in World Series history.

Actor Miles Teller grew up in the Philly suburbs rooting on the Fightins’. He has become a regular at Phillies playoff games in 2022 and 2023.
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Will Smith, a.k.a "The Fresh Prince," was “born and raised” in West Philadelphia.
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President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden have brought Phillies fandom to the White House.
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“SNL” and “30 Rock” alum Tina Fey grew up in Upper Darby.
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Fellow Upper Darby native and “SNL” alum Cheri Oteri took it one step further and not only posed with the Phanatic, but danced with him at the 2022 World Series.
Six degrees of Kevin Bacon includes the Philadelphia native root, root, rooting for the home team.
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Delaware native and "The White Lotus" star Aubrey Plaza did a series of videos for MLB.com this summer while wearing a Phillies jersey.
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Actor and Delaware native Ryan Phillippe cheers on all sports teams in Philadelphia.
Speaking of First State celebs, actor Sean Patrick Thomas grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.
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Lehigh Valley native Amanda Seyfried has been spotted out in public wearing a Phillies hat.
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Actor Danny DeVito hails from New Jersey and also appears to be a Dodgers fan, but he stars in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and has worn a Phillies jersey to throw a first pitch.
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Speaking of “Always Sunny,” star Rob McElhenney cheers on his hometown team. He even got to do an on-field script about his character “Mac” getting to meet his hero Chase Utley.
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Rob McElhenney brought wife and co-star Kaitlin Olson and fellow "Always Sunny" star Charlie Day to Game 2 of the 2023 NLCS.
Troy Gentile -- who starred in another Philly-based show, “The Goldbergs” -- seemed thrill to shake Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's hands.
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Music superstar Taylor Swift grew up in Berks County and sung the National Anthem before one of the Phillies World Series games in 2008.
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Speaking of Taylor Swift, Eagles star Jason Kelce and his brother Travis Kelce pose for a photo during Game 1 of the 2023 NLCS.
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Kelce joined Eagles teammates Dallas Goedert, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson and A.J. Brown (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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Country music superstar Tim McGraw supports the Phillies and rides with the Phanatic. His father Tug McGraw closed out the Phillies’ first World Series in 1980.
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College basketball championship coaches Dawn Staley and Jay Wright both rep the Phillies.
"Lost" and "Hawaii Five-0" actor Daniel Dae Kim grew up in the Lehigh Valley and went to Haverford College.
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“The Roots” Questlove shows his Phillies love while playing music.
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"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer hails from the Philly suburbs and tweets his support for the Phils.
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Broadway superstar Kristin Chenoweth wore a Phillies jersey on two separate occasions and even sung.
"The Sopranos" actor Dominic Chianese hasalso taken the mic for a patriotic performance at a Phillies game.
Philadelphia's own Chubby Checker adds a "Twist" to being a Phillies fan.
Beloved action star and Jersey guy Bruce Willis is a Phillies fan.
"American Ninja Warrior" star Akbar Gbaja-Biamila joined Willis on the field before Willis threw out a first pitch in 2019.
Actor Khris Davis hails from Camden, New Jersey, and went to Cheyney University.
Phillies sports legends Bernie Parent, Dr. J Julius Erving, Brandon Graham and Mike Schmidt have all stepped up to show Phillies support while tossing out first pitches.
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This one is a bit of a stretch, but Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, the Icelandic World’s Strongest man known for playing “The Mountain” on “Game of Thrones, once visted the Phillies. He even showed off his strength by lifting the Phillie Phanatic.
Speaking of strong men with loose Phillies connections, "The Incredible Hulk" actor Lou Ferrigno while throwing out a first pitch.
The Phillies connections from here on out appear to be mostly first-pitch related.
Actor Jamie Foxx (who filmed "Law Abiding Citizen" in Philly) threw out the first pitch before the Phillies took on the Mets during the Jackie Robinson Day Celebration at Citizens Bank Park on April 15, 2019.
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"Stranger Things" have happened than actors Joe Keery and David Harbour throwing out first pitches in Phillies gear.
"The Sandlot" actors Marty York and Victor DiMattia posed for a picture with the Phillie Phanatic before a June 2018 game.
Stand up comedian Matt Rife threw out the first pitch before of a 2023 Phillies game.
Canadian soap actor William deVry threw out the first pitch before a 2017 Phillies game.
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“Boy Meets World” stars Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel and Rider Strong pose for a photo during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park on September 27, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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“The Monkees” star Micky Dolenz got to pose with the Phillie Phanatic before a 2018 game.
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Actor Mekhi Phifer grew up in Harlem, but sure looked like a Phillies fans when he arrived arrives at the debut of a Hollywood nightclub in October 2003.

Phillies hitters struck out 14 times and walked three times. Javier, throwing predominantly four-seam fastballs, struck out nine. 

The Phillies' Nos. 3 through 6 hitters, J.T. Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm, were a combined 0 for 12 with 11 strikeouts and a walk.

Even a crowd of 45,693 couldn't get the Phillies going. The loss was the team's first in seven games at Citizens Bank Park this postseason. The Phils are 1-7 all-time in Game 4s of the World Series, their only win coming against Tampa Bay in 2008.

Nola beat these same Astros with 6⅔ shutout innings on October 3 to put the Phillies in the postseason for the first time in 11 years.

He then beat St. Louis and Atlanta in the first two rounds of the playoffs, allowing just an unearned run in 12⅔ innings. But it's been a struggle for Nola in his last three. He was lit up for six runs in 4⅔ innings by San Diego in Game 2 of the NLCS. Now, in two World Series starts against Houston, he's given up eight runs in 8⅓ innings.

Nola kept the Astros at bay for the first four innings Wednesday night. He featured a biting curveball and used it to pitch out of trouble in the second. 

In the fifth, the Astros strung together three singles to load the bases with no outs. With lefty slugger Yordan Alvarez due up, manager Rob Thomson went to his best bullpen lefty, Jose Alvarado, but the strategy did not work. Alvarado hit Alvarez with the first pitch to send home the game's first run. Alex Bregman then smacked a 101-mph, 0-2 sinker to right for a two-run double and the Astros were on their way.

Before being no-hit, the Phillies' offense had been outstanding, posting a .977 OPS and averaging seven runs per game in the six previous home games this postseason.

The offense will look to rebound against Verlander in Game 5.

Verlander led the majors with a 1.75 ERA this season and will likely win his third American League Cy Young Award later this month. His Hall of Fame resume is golden, but one thing it lacks is World Series success. He is 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career starts in the Fall Classic. Verlander let a 5-0 lead slip away in Game 1 of this series and the Phillies came back to win on J.T. Realmuto's home run in the 10th.

Syndergaard started and won Game 3 of the 2015 World Series for the New York Mets.

Seven years later, he finds himself starting Game 5 for the Phillies.

Syndergaard gets the start by default. The Phils are without a dependable fourth starter. They have plugged the spot throughout the postseason with either Syndergaard or Bailey Falter. The outings have been short with the bullpen picking up much of the load. Syndergaard has pitched just 1⅓ innings and thrown just 17 pitches in the last 18 days, so the Phils figure to take a similar route Thursday night.

"I feel like I could go for as long as they will allow me to," Syndergaard said. "Now is the time to empty the tanks."

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