*Photo from CNN*
So far, the New York Mets have had a strong start to the season. They just threw an exclamation point up there. Tylor Megill started it, Edwin Diaz ended it, and the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies with a 3-0 combined no hitter victory on Friday night in Queens.
This was a 5 pitcher effort from the Mets, so you'd think someone would know what was going on, right? Nope. The only pitcher who knew was Diaz, who closed the game out in the 9th inning. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso described it as "seeing a white buffalo or a unicorn."
In the major leagues, there have been 315 no hitters. Of those 315, only 17 have been combined no hitters, making this one even more of a unicorn. It's the Mets second no hitter in franchise history, and the first since Johan Santana did it on June 1, 2012, against the St. Louis Cardinals. The 5 pitchers needed was the most since pitch counts became widely available in 1987.
Mets catcher James McCann said that "You start paying attention about the sixth, seventh inning, you start hearing the crowd getting into it, realizing there’s a chance for something special. Especially with multiple guys. If it’s with one guy, you’re on the same page all night. But trying to get on the same page with a lot of guys, it’s definitely special to be able to share it with so many people."
The Mets didn't start scoring until the 5th inning, when Jeff McNeil made it a 2-0 game, scoring Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar on a two run single. One inning later, in the 6th inning, Alonso hit a solo home run, making it 3-0 Mets. The pitching did the rest.
The young Megill started the no hitter off, getting the win with 5 scoreless innings and 88 pitches, improving to 4-0 on the season. Up next was 1 1/3 hitless innings from Drew Smith. Then came a hitless inning from Joely Rodriguez, and 2/3 hitless innings from Seth Lugo. Diaz closed it out in the 9th, striking out all 3 batters he faced.
Mets manager Buck Showalter said of making it a combined no hitter this time that "Megill threw close to 90 pitches in five innings, that was plenty. What a job the rest of the guys did against a really good hitting lineup, too. It’s fun to watch."
Getting the start and loss for the Phillies was Aaron Nola, who dropped to 1-3 on the season. Nola allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, striking out 9 hitters in 6 innings. Former New York Yankee Nick Nelson came on in relief, throwing two scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and one walk, striking out 4 hitters.
Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper said of being no hit that "We’ve got two more games here. We just didn’t get it done. So sometimes that’s going to happen, sometimes your lineup just doesn’t show up, and we didn’t show up today and that can’t happen of course. So we need to go out there and do our job tomorrow and Sunday, as well."
The Phillies and Mets continue their weekend series on Saturday night. Taijuan Walker starts for the Mets, while Kyle Gibson takes the mound for the Phillies.
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