Five New York Mets pitchers — Tylor Megill, Joely Rodriguez, Drew Smith, Seth Lugo, and Edwin Diaz — combined to throw the second no-hitter in franchise history, blanking the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night at Citi Field in a 3-0 victory.
“It was a great night for the pitchers,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “Playing a team that’s hot, you’re hoping to get a quality start… You have to have some things happen that don’t normally happen… They happened.
“That was fun to watch.”
It’s the 17th combined no-hitter in MLB history and the first no-hitter recorded by a Met since Johan Santana shut down the St. Louis Cardinals on June 1, 2012, needing a staggering 159 pitches that included six walks and 12 strikeouts, but zero hits.
HEEEEE STRUCK HIM OUT!!!!!
THE METS HAVE THROWN A COMBINED NO-HITTER! pic.twitter.com/yitTc1jo2Z
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 30, 2022
Megill started the game, recording the first 15 outs while striking out five and walking three. He got the hook after 88 pitches as the Mets looked to preserve the right-hander and keep his pitch count at a reasonable level.
Every no-hitter has its special defensive moment, and that came in the third inning when Brandon Nimmo robbed Jean Segura of a base hit with a diving catch.
Brandon Nimmo to the rescue!!! pic.twitter.com/hnJEXGRJOO
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 30, 2022
Meanwhile, New York’s starter continued to star as Jacob deGrom’s replacement, exhibiting a 1.93 ERA over his first five starts.
Smith relieved Megill, striking out four of five batters he faced during his 1.1 innings of work. After walking Kyle Schwarber with one out in the seventh, Smith was replaced by Rodriguez, who induced an inning-ending double play from Alec Bohm to get the Mets within six outs.
Rodriguez followed Smith’s footsteps, getting the first out in the eighth before walking Johan Camargo. But Lugo came in and coaxed pop-ups from Jean Segura and Rhys Hoskins to get through the frame.
The closer, Diaz — who had allowed just one hit in his previous six innings of work — set down the heart of the Phillies order by striking out the side. He set down Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and JT Realmuto all swinging helplessly on devastating sliders.
“I knew early that Tylor wasn’t going to finish the game,” Showalter said. “What a job the rest of the guys did. That’s a really good hitting lineup, too.”
Jeff McNeil put the Mets ahead in the fifth inning against Aaron Nola, spraying a two-RBI single to left-center field. Pete Alonso followed it up in the sixth with a mammoth solo home run to give Mets pitching more than enough of a cushion to work with.
