Trevor Bauer hasn’t been the game-changer we all expected him to be. The Cleveland Indians right-hander is already on his second team since being drafted third overall in 2011 and has spent the bulk of his career bouncing between Triple-A and the major leagues.

Bauer’s outing Thursday won’t change everyone’s mind, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. The 24-year-old tossed six innings of no-hit ball in a win over Houston. Bauer’s control was suspect at times (he walked five batters), but he got better as the game went along, finishing with a career-high 11 strikeouts.

Once Bauer reached 111 pitches, manager Terry Francona handed things over to the bullpen. The no-hitter lasted until the ninth when Jed Lowrie broke it up with a home run to left field off Nick Hagadone. The 400-foot blast was Houston’s first home run of the season.

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We knew the Astros would do their fair share of striking out this year with free swingers George Springer and Chris Carter occupying the middle of the order. But whiffing 36 times in three games is inexcusable. The Astros may want to rethink their offensive approach because swinging for the fences clearly isn’t working.

Give the Indians some credit, though. This is shaping up to be one heck of a starting rotation. Through three games, Cleveland starters are 2-1 with a 0.92 ERA across 19 2/3 innings. Ironically, Cy Young winner Corey Kluber was charged with the only loss.

Cleveland’s last no-hitter came in 1981 when Len Barker tossed a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Thanks to Lowrie’s home run, the Astros avoided being no-hit for the third time since 2008.

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If the Tribe had pulled it off, it would have been the first combined no-hitter since Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon went the distance September 1 of last year. With teams using pitch counts religiously to prevent elbow and shoulder injuries, combined no-hitters might start to happen more frequently.

Harvey bests Strasburg

Aside from seeing Adam Wainwright pitch against Jon Lester, Thursday’s Matt Harvey/Stephen Strasburg showdown may have been the most anticipated pitching matchup of the young season.

Usually the No. 1 starter, Strasburg fell to third on the depth chart this year behind Max Scherzer and Jordan Zimmermann. Harvey was pushed back so the Mets could ease him in after taking last year off to recover from Tommy John surgery.

This was actually the second time Strasburg and Harvey have met head-to-head. The two went at it back on April 19, 2013. Harvey was the better pitcher that day just like he was on Thursday.

In six innings of shutout work, Harvey torched the Nationals for nine strikeouts while allowing just four hits and one walk. His curveball was lethal and his velocity looked like it never left. Harvey was consistently hitting 97 mph on the gun.

For Strasburg, the wheels fell off in the third. Ian Desmond botched what should have been a double play, leading to a four-run inning. The Mets got to Strasburg again with two runs in the sixth, chasing him from the game with only one out. The six runs allowed were Strasburg’s most since August 8 at Atlanta. The Nationals, favored by most to win the National League, are 1-2 to start the year.

The Twins scored … finally!

With top prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano waiting in the wings, the future is bright in Minnesota. Unfortunately for Twins fans, the present isn’t as sunny.

After getting shutout in each of their first two contests, the Twins finally scored in the seventh inning Thursday against Detroit. Keep in mind this isn’t the same Tigers rotation that dominated the AL last year. Detroit lost Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello this offseason and former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander is on the disabled list. And it STILL took the Twins 24 innings to score on them.

The game almost didn’t happen thanks to a three-hour, 36-minute rain delay. Poor starts are becoming the norm for Minnesota. The Twins have started the year 0-3 three of the last four seasons. At this moment, Joe Mauer is the only batter on the Twins’ roster hitting over .250.

American League Quick Hits: Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly was supposed to make a minor league rehab appearance, but instead he’ll start Saturday against the Yankees. Kelly was placed on the DL March 27 with bicep tightness … While we’re on the subject of injured Red Sox, it appears closer Koji Uehara is also on the mend. He’s set to pitch a simulated game in Greenville Saturday and if all goes well, he could be back for Boston’s home opener on Monday … So far, it hasn’t been a strong year for David Ortiz offensively (five strikeouts in seven at bats) but the man’s glove work has been top notch. Ortiz, who drew two starts at first base against the Phillies, hasn’t made an error since 2009. Could this be the year Papi finally wins that elusive Gold Glove? Okay, back to reality … The Indians have been playing it safe with Michael Brantley. He’s missed the last two games with lower back stiffness. The team is hoping he’ll be good to go this weekend against the Tigers … Ricky Nolasco got lit up Wednesday against Detroit and now we might know why. He flew back to Minnesota Thursday for an MRI on his right elbow. Just when things couldn’t get any worse for the Twins … Talk about a short leash. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has already removed Brett Cecil from the closer’s role. He pitched the eighth inning Thursday while the save chance went to Miguel Castro … Lately, Joey Bats has been Joey Bad. Jose Bautista is now 0-for-12 to start the season. Eight of those 12 at bats have ended with Bautista striking out. As someone who picked Bautista in the first round of my fantasy draft, let’s hope he turns things around quickly … 566 days: that’s how long it had been since Alex Rodriguez’s last regular season home run. A-Rod went deep off Blue Jays left-hander Daniel Norris in the sixth inning Thursday. Rodriguez was batting second in the order, something he’s only done 59 times since 2006 (that’s out of 3,632 at bats). The home run was the 655th of his career, putting him five behind Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home run list … Speaking of milestone home runs, Adrian Beltre’s seventh-inning bomb against Oakland Thursday was the 396th of his career. He’s also knocking on the door to 3,000 hits (2,606). Beltre’s Hall of Fame resume is looking stronger by the day … Nick Martinez was in cruise control Thursday, limiting the A’s to four hits in seven shutout frames. The 24-year-old has fantasy sleeper written all over him … Somehow the Rangers managed to hit into a 4-2-6-5-4 double play. That’s second base to catcher, to shortstop to third to second. You don’t see that every day … After hitting second the first three games of the year, Texas manager Jeff Banister dropped Elvis Andrus to seventh in the order. It didn’t help much. Andrus went 0-for-5 and is now hitting .125 … Since stinking up the joint on Tuesday (four strikeouts on 12 pitches), A’s third baseman Brett Lawrie has actually done okay for himself. He’s gone 4-for-8 in that span with only one strikeout … Take your pick for catch of the day: Lorenzo Cain going up against the wall to rob Micah Johnson or Adam Eaton laying out for a diving grab against Mike Moustakas. My vote’s for Eaton but both catches deserve another look … Playing in a daily fantasy league? If so, I’d recommend Victor Martinez for Friday. He’s 9-for-18 with one homer and seven RBI versus Cleveland right-hander Zach McAllister. Pablo Sandoval is another guy I’d spend top dollar on (8-for-11, 1 HR, 9 RBI vs. Nathan Eovaldi).

National League Quick Hits: Jonathan Papelbon may play for the Phillies now, but his heart never left Boston. Earlier this week, he told the Boston Globe, “The Red Sox are a part of who I am.” He went on to say, “I don’t really feel much like a Phillie.” It sounds like Papelbon wants out. The problem is, the trade market for 34-year-old closers who make $13 million a year is not exactly booming … Domonic Brown (left Achilles tendinitis) began a rehab assignment with High-A Clearwater on Thursday. He went 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts … Nationals center fielder Denard Span (abdomen) will see minor league action on Friday. He should be back in Washington in two or three weeks … Billy Hamilton is FAST. He already has six stolen bases. That’s more than every team in the league. Watch out, Rickey Henderson. Your record is not safe … Padres starter Ian Kennedy left Thursday’s game with a mild hamstring strain. A DL stint seems likely … The Masters kicked off Thursday in Augusta, which got me thinking about the hole-in-one Jon Lester hit during spring training. He was playing at Eric Hinske’s club in Scottsdale, which meant all the drinks were on Hinske’s tab … Kris Bryant went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in his season debut for Triple-A Iowa. With Mike Olt and Tommy La Stella scuffling at third base (combined 1-for-10 in two games), Bryant shouldn’t be in Iowa for very long … Our thoughts and prayers go out to Cubs prospect Javier Baez. His sister passed away earlier this week. Baez has taken a leave of absence to be with his family.