Joe Espada needed five games to get his first major league win as a manager. No doubt he wished it came sooner, but when it finally did, it came with some history.

The Astros routed the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night 10-0 behind the first ever no hitter from Ronel Blanco, a reliever thrown into starter's duty with injuries to Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy. Blanco had only started eight games in the majors and had never gone more than six innings. On Monday, he threw 105 pitches and walked just two (George Springer in the first and George Springer again in the ninth) with 73 strikes and seven Ks.

Blanco recorded the 17th no hitter in franchise history and the earliest no-no in a season in major league history. It was as remarkable as it was unlikely, particularly after the Astros were swept in four games by the Yankess to open the season.

And if that weren't enough, the bats finally came alive with Kyle Tucker and Yainer Diaz hitting a pair of home runs apiece and Jeremy Peña getting his first homer since last July. After rounded the bases, Peña clapped his hands and then raised them to the heavens in relief.

It was an explosion of a night after a nightmarish opening weekend. Everything seemingly going right for the home team, finally. Chas McCormick pitched in with a pair of doubles and Diaz called a masterful game. Despite his handling of pitchers reportedly being a concern, he has now called two no hitters and his two home runs didn't hurt either.

For Blanco, who just welcomed his second child (a baby girl) into the world last week on the same day he found out he made the 26-man roster, it was a revelation of a performance. His changeup was absolutely un-hittable and he came in with the same energy he has brought at a reliever, bounding out of the dugout for every inning and wasting no time between pitches.

At 30, Blanco's path to the bigs has been a somewhat unorthodox one. Out of the Dominican Republic, he was discovered at the age of 22, old by Dominican standards. He has pitched well in the minors, but never stuck at the major league level. This season, he was masterful in spring training and it was widely assumed he would play a key role as a middle reliever. But with injuries in the rotation, he was pressed into duty as a fifth starter and he was simply incredible.

The Astros ballpark felt like it breathed a huge sigh of relief with boatloads of offense, a dominating pitcher and rest for the bullpen. Espada's first win as a manager was overshadowed by a 30-year-old-reliever-turned-stopgap-starter, but, after the first weekend of the year, any win would be a good win. This one happened to be great.