Apr 9, 2015 4 min read

Even if four Cleveland Indians pitchers had combined on a no-hitter, manager Terry Francona wasn’t certain it would’ve been cause for celebration.

Jed Lowrie broke up the bid by homering with one out in the ninth inning for Houston’s only hit Thursday in a 5-1 win for the Indians.

Before that homer, Trevor Bauer and the Indians’ bullpen had walked seven batters.

“I asked Millsy (bench coach Brad Mills) in the ninth: `If we get through this with a no-hitter are we supposed to be excited?’ I wasn’t really sure,” Francona said.

“There’s a lot of baserunners. So that was probably the least of our thoughts. We were just trying to set up our staff and win a game and do what we think is right.”

Bauer was pulled after throwing 111 pitches through six innings. He struck out a career-high 11 and walked five.

He was slightly more excited about the prospect of taking part in a no-no.

“Anytime you have a no-hitter going, it’s fun and there’s a special air in the building,” Bauer said. “Obviously, it’s unfortunate to see the home run, but the team won and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.”

Relievers Kyle Crockett and Scott Atchison each pitched a scoreless inning before Nick Hagadone took over.

Hagadone struck out Chris Carter to begin the ninth. Lowrie then sent a 94 mph fastball far over the left-center field wall for Houston’s only hit.

“Lowrie swung and missed on a fastball and I tried to throw another one and he didn’t swing and miss,” Hagadone said.

Lowrie and the Astros were relieved to escape with a hit.

“It’s a weight lifted off the whole dugout, the whole team,” Lowrie said. “Hopefully, it was good for morale.”

The Indians have not had a no-hitter since Len Baker threw a perfect game in 1981 against Toronto.

Bauer and the Cleveland relievers teamed to strike out 16.

Corey Kluber opened the Indians’ season Monday night by holding Houston hitless until Jose Altuve’s two-out single in the sixth.

There were five no-hitters in the majors last year, capped by Washington’s Jordan Zimmermann throwing a gem on the final day of the regular season.

Lowrie’s shot came 50 years to the day after a well-known home run in Houston history. The old Astrodome opened on this date in 1965 with an exhibition game, and Mickey Mantle hit the first home run inside the building.

The Astros struck out a total of 36 times in losing two of three to Cleveland. The Houston lineup features several players who either hit it far or don’t hit it at all.

Roberto Perez and Jose Ramirez homered for Cleveland.

Astros starter Asher Wojciechowski (0-1) gave up four runs and eight hits in four-plus innings of his major league debut.

Detroit 7, Minnesota 1: Shane Greene and the Detroit Tigers set the modern AL record for the longest shutout streak to start a season, extending their string to 24 innings while beating the Minnesota Twins 7-1 on a rainy.

After the start was delayed by rain for over 3 1/2 hours, new Twins manager Paul Molitor’s team dropped to 0-3. And when Minnesota scored its lone run in the seventh, it was unearned.

Texas 10, Oakland 1: Shin-Soo Choo hit a three-run homer, Mitch Moreland added a two-run blast and Texas’ dormant bats broke out in a big way as the Rangers spoiled Kendall Graveman’s Oakland debut with a 10-1 victory.

Kansas City 4, Chicago White Sox 1: Edinson Volquez dazzled for eight innings in his Royals debut, Lorenzo Cain made a pair of spectacular catches after driving in a run, and Kansas City beat the Chicago White Sox 4-1 to finish a season-opening sweep.

N.Y. Mets 6, Washington 3: Matt Harvey was dynamic in his return from Tommy John surgery, outpitching Stephen Strasburg with six scoreless innings, regularly reaching 97 mph and striking out nine to lead the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals 6-3.