Fiers throws no-hitter against Dodgers in 3-0 win by Astros

HOUSTON (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers' offense had been scuffling.

On Friday night, things hit rock bottom.

Mike Fiers pitched the second no-hitter in the major leagues in nine days, leading the Houston Astros to a 3-0 victory over the Dodgers.

Fiers (6-9) struck out Justin Turner on his 134th pitch to end it and threw his glove high into the air for his first career complete game and the fifth no-hitter in the big leagues this season. Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma tossed a no-no Aug 12.

"The way you have to see it is that a no-hitter is hitting rock bottom, and you have to go up from there," Yasmani Grandal said. "We come back and face a brand new guy. That's the good thing about this game. Tomorrow's another day, and we just have come back tomorrow and do our job."

Turner, who walked in the first, said Fiers pitched him different in the final at bat than he did in the three before.

"He threw me five straight fastballs and I think he threw me maybe two fastballs in my three at-bats before that," Turner said. "So, he just switched it up on me and made some good pitches."

The closest the Dodgers came to breaking it up was in the sixth inning when Turner's towering shot to left with two outs hooked foul.

"The fact that you get no-hit is kind of like icing on the bad part of the cake," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "I think at the end of the day it's a loss and you have to get over it. You can't afford not to."

Los Angeles has lost three straight games to begin its eight-game road trip and has only six runs on nine hits in those three games.

"I can't say we hit a bunch of balls on the nose," Mattingly said. "If you're hitting some balls on the nose right at people you're kind of going in the range of a little bit of bad luck. I didn't think Oakland we really hit that many balls good. I don't really sit here tonight going we swung at a bunch of balls. . really up and down the lineup you didn't sit here and go 'Hey we just missed a bunch of balls.'"

Astros executive Nolan Ryan, who threw a record seven no-hitters, applauded from a suite as Fiers was mobbed by his teammates near the mound after finishing the 11th gem in Astros history.

Ryan went down to the dugout to congratulate Fiers after the game and it was the first time the two had met.

"It was like a dream," Fiers said. "You throw the last pitch. You feel the emotion of everything you've been through in your life."

Cole Hamels with Philadelphia, San Francisco's Chris Heston and Washington's Max Scherzer also have thrown no-hitters this season.

A night earlier the Astros were on the wrong end of a gem, getting just a fifth-inning single against Tampa Bay's Chris Archer.

Acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline to help with their playoff push, Fiers was stellar in his first two starts for Houston. This was something else, though.

Having never even gotten an out in the ninth inning in his five-year career, Fiers was dominant. He struck out 10 and walked three, retiring the final 21 batters.

Fiers (1-0) needed little help from his defense until Jake Marisnick had to sprint to catch a long flyball by Jimmy Rollins just in front of the bullpen in right field for the first out of the ninth inning.

Fiers crouched in relief then pointed out to his teammate.

The 30-year-old right-hander allowed a walk in each of the first three innings, but didn't allow a baserunner after walking Joc Pederson to start the third.

After that, he repeatedly had the NL West-leading Dodgers fooled with a nasty curveball and changeup to complement a fastball in the low 90s.

It was the first no-hitter by one Astros pitcher since Darryl Kile blanked the Mets on Sept. 8, 1993. Six Houston pitchers combined to throw one against the Yankees on June 11, 2003.

Fiers was acquired with Carlos Gomez from Milwaukee on July 30 and has been rejuvenated by the move from a last-place club to the top of the AL West. He allowed just one earned run over 12 innings in his first two starts for Houston.

Jake Marisnick gave the Astros a 2-0 lead in the second with a two-run homer off the left center facade. Evan Gattis hit a solo home run to left in the sixth.

Brett Anderson (7-8) allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in six innings.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig (right hamstring) ran before Friday's game, and Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly said he expected Puig to play in the three-game series against Houston. .. IF Howie Kendrick (left hamstring) did some running and drills Friday, but Mattingly said the Dodgers don't expect him back before September 1.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: RHP Zack Greinke (13-2) looks for his ninth straight win Saturday in the second game of the three-game series when he oppose Scott Kazmir (6-8) .

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AP freelance writer Jeremy Rakes contributed to this report.