Santana Throws No-Hitter against St. Louis

New York Mets leftie Johan Santana pitched the team’s first no-hitter Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets defeated the Cardinals 8-0. Santana was helped by a terrific catch by a teammate and a missed call by the third base umpire.

In the 50-year history of the franchise, there have been a number of close calls for no-hitters, but none has made it the distance. The no-hitter was the third this season in the major leagues. In the sixth inning, Carlos Beltran hit a line drive down the third base foul line that on replay showed it hit the foul line, but Adrian Johnson the third place umpire ruled the ball foul.

Mike Baxter made an outstanding catch for the Mets in left field in the seventh inning to rob extra bases from Yadier Molina. In the process, Baxter ran into the left field wall and had to be taken out of the game.

Santana, who is 3-2 on the season, needed 134 pitches to throw the no-hitter. He had eight strikeouts, five walks and recorded his second straight shutout. Earlier this season Phil Humbert threw a perfect game for the White Sox to defeat the Mariners, while Jered Weaver through a no-hitter for the Angels against the Twins.

In the ninth inning, Santana, the two-time winner of the Cy Young Award, retired the first two hitters on fly balls and struck out David Freese on a foul tip to end the game. He was mobbed by his teammates, while security personnel tackled a fan near home plate.