Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history on Friday in an 8-0 win over the Cardinals. Santana threw 133 pitches and walked five batters, but he managed to no-hit the best offense in the National League.
Although he didn’t allow any hits, Santana’s game was far from perfect. In addition to the five walks, he got some help on an umpire’s blown call, and a teammate’s great catch.
First up was a line drive down the third base line from Carlos Beltran in the sixth that was ruled foul by umpire Adrian Johnson, although replays showed it hit the chalk and therefore should have been ruled fair:
Though he didn’t see the Beltran play, he knows he got some assistance.
“There are times when one play makes the whole difference, one call makes the whole difference. If that was the case, tonight [the Beltran ball] was the call.”
In addition to the umpire’s mistake, Santana benefited from a great play in the seventh. Left fielder Mike Baxter crashed into the left-field wall chasing down a Yadier Molina fly ball:
Santana was grateful for Baxter’s effort on the play.
“When he made that catch, I didn’t even know it was in his glove,” Santana said. “It was great. It was amazing.”
“I’m glad I had a chance to be a part of that,” said Baxter.
The left fielder admitted he was sore after the game, and he’ll be further examined on Saturday.
The no-hitter was a fantastic feat for both the Mets and Santana. The Mets had played 8,019 games in 51 years before finally recording a no-hitter. This was also Santana’s first no-hitter, and it came in his 11th start this season. It’s quite the comeback after he missed all of last year because of shoulder surgery.
