As the media made their way into the Houston Astros clubhouse, two players were engaged in a conversation, and both had huge smiles.

At first glance, you would think that starting pitchers Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier were talking about the gem Javier had just thrown in the 8-1 victory against the Los Angeles Angels. But the two were laughing about a funny video they had seen on social media.

Not many get to witness that side of Javier, as he is emotionless when he takes the mound, and that has not fared well for his opponents lately.

On Friday night, in front of a home crowd of over 36,000, Javier stymied the Angels’ bats by striking out a career-high 14 hitters over seven innings and allowing only one hit, which was a home run by designated hitter Shohei Ohtani in the first inning.

That performance came on the heels of Javier’s brilliant performance against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last Saturday, when he struck out 13 batters in a combined no-hitter with relievers Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly. Javier has struck out 27 batters in his last two starts and allowed only one hit in 14 innings of work. That feat was not done by any other pitcher in the modern era beginning in the 1900s.

“That is definitely something that makes me very happy,” said Javier when reporters notified him about his accomplishment. “I actually did not know that. I just thank God for everything he has done for me.”

Astros catcher Martín Maldonado has been an enormous factor in Javier’s success. He knows first-hand how good he has become and credits his fearless demeanor as a factor in his ability to command the strike zone.

“He is a guy that is not afraid of contact and not afraid to pound the strike zone and he is getting better every start,” said Maldonado. “He has the ability to throw any pitch in any count. You guys see how he made a mistake with Ohtani and he hit a homer, and [Javier] just goes out there and keeps executing pitches. That’s really hard for a young guy to do, and he keeps doing it.”

Manager Dusty Baker has also noticed the change in approach by his young pitcher in his last two starts.

“Confidence breeds confidence,” Baker said. “And confidence breeds success. That’s what he’s demonstrating. He has a calmness about him, especially for a young pitcher.”

Javier’s performances is starting to put pressure on Baker as he will have a crucial decision about his rotation as Jake Odorizzi is scheduled to come off of the IL next week after completing his rehab assignment.

“We’ll deal with that when [Odorizzi] gets here,” Baker said. “And you know, there could be room for both, especially this stretch that we’re in right now.”

The Astros will be back in action Saturday at Minute Maid Park against the Angels. The first pitch is at 3:10 pm CST.