Just Mets

The wrong side of a no-hitter.

The Mets didn’t hit, literally at all.

The New York Mets were no-hit tonight by a rookie named Chris Heston, a 12th round selection by the Giants in the 2009 first-year player draft. Congratulations, sir.

They weren’t even close to a hit tonight. The best they could do was get hit by three pitches, as Heston didn’t walk anyone and the Giants didn’t commit an error.

The thing is, with this offense, this was bound to happen. The lineup Terry Collins puts out there is non-competitive on an everyday basis. Sure, Travis d’Arnaud is coming back tomorrow and Dilson Herrera soon thereafter, but they’re not coming back with a magic spell to make this group of hitters better than they are.

It just can’t happen, and it did, and tonight is the culmination of everything that this offense isn’t. Yes, no-hitters are quirky and unusual and even the worst offenses don’t get no-hit most of the time. But I think that statement is more of an understanding of what the Mets have here than any kind of over-reaction I could offer.

Maybe this will serve as motivation for the Mets to actually get better players and save the season, which is sinking fast.

Beyond that, I have no words for what happened tonight. None whatsoever.

Heston threw 110 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. He had a game score of 98, hit three batters, struck 11 batters out and issued no walks in a complete game shutout of the Mets.

Heston also went 2-for-4 at the plate, with two RBI.

Noah Syndergaard has work to do.

20 hits, 10 runs, 10 innings, 12 strikeouts for Noah in his last two starts. So, there’s an adjustment to be made.

Syndergaard has allowed 20 hits and ten runs in ten innings over his last two starts. He’s allowed a lot of contact, particularly on his fastball and did not miss a lot of bats on Tuesday in particular.

Every inning was a struggle for him tonight but he managed to survive over the first three innings thanks to a couple of double plays turned for him (out of about five). His struggles culminated when he allowed a two-out, two-run single to the pitcher Chris Heston in the fourth inning.

It’s not clear if he’s tipping something, but he didn’t fool the Padres on his breaking ball last week, and he spotted it well at times. Today, he struggled with the life on his fastball, but the Giants were making too much contact on his 98-100 mph fastball.

Whatever the case is, Syndergaard and Dan Warthen have some work to do before his next start against the Braves.

The double play fiasco continued tonight.

Once again, another night passed when the Mets had a ton of trouble turning double plays. They did turn two of them, but they had a total of five chances and it might have given Syndergaard a different opportunity if they could have turned the other three chances.

It’s been a topic of conversation far too often this season, but it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. It was an issue coming into the season and during spring training, and something which was a known risk to water this club down. It has, and too much this season.

Heston threw the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball in 2015 – he allowed only two outs in the air, one of which reached the outfield.

Tonight marked the seventh time in franchise history the Mets were no-hit.

The last time the Mets were no-hit before tonight was on September 8, 1993 against Darryl Kyle at the Astrodome.

The last no-hitter thrown against the Mets at home before tonight was by Pirates RHP Bob Moose on September 20, 1969 at Shea Stadium.

Chris Heston is the first rookie to throw a no-hitter since Clay Buchholz in 2007.

It’s the fourth consecutive season in which a Giants pitcher has thrown a no-hitter, and the 17th time in franchise history a Giants pitcher has thrown a no-hitter.