Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese's 99th pitch resulted in the Braves' first hit of the game, a seventh-inning single by Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman, keeping the Mets' history of no-hitter futility intact.
New York's National League franchise is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season and still looking for its first no-hitter in team history. Niese looked close, but he started the seventh by walking Dan Uggla before giving up the hit to Freeman. After en error and a double, Niese was taken out of the game after 102 pitches.
Niese probably wasn't going to go the distance on his own, but tor the Mets, though, any kind of no-hitter, even combined, would be an historic feat.
Niese was the 41st Mets pitcher to have a no-hitter through six innings, but none have finished the deal. The last was R.A. Dickey last September. Check out this awesome blog -- nonohitter.com -- that tracks the team's no-hitter futility on a daily basis.
The Mets have 35 one-hitters in their history and six former Mets have thrown no-hitters after leaving the team, with another (Alejandro Pena) participated in a combined no-hitter in 1991, just a month after leaving the team. Nolan Ryan, of course, threw seven no-hitters after leaving the Mets, while Tom Seaver did it in his first season as a non-Met. OTher former Mets to throw no-hitters were Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, David Cone and Hideo Nomo.
CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler wrote about the streak two years ago.
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