Johan Santana's road back from shoulder surgery wasn't nearly as long as the New York Mets' path to the first no-hitter in franchise history.Given his struggles since becoming a Met, and the franchise's tortured history with no-nos, it only seems appropriate Santana authored their first.
On a cloudy night at Citi Field, Santana slogged through the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup, walking four but allowing no hits in an 8-0 victory that ended a half-century of Mets no-hit futiliy that stretched to 8,019 games.
After Santana struck out David Freese to end it, a raucous celebration unfolded at Citi Field, Santana slowly accepting hugs from his fellow mates after his feat.
It wasn't easy.
Santana threw 134 pitches, 26 more than the 108 he threw on May 8, his previous season high. Santana sat out the entire 2011 season recovering from shoulder surgery, the darkest point on a mostly disappointing stint since the Mets traded for him and signed him to a six-year, $137.5 million deal before the 2008 season.
He issued his fifth walk with two outs in the eighth inning, prompting manager Terry Collins to jog briskly to the mound. It was a quick conversation, and Santana quickly got former teammate Carlos Beltran on a pop to second to end the inning.
In the ninth, Matt Holliday hit a broken-bat fly to center that Andres Torres reeled in. Allen Craig hit a soft fly to left for the second out. Freese flailed at a full-count pitch in the dirt, Santana's eighth strikeout on a night his changeup danced magically, as it did when he established himself as the premier left-handed pitcher in the game.
And so ended a 50-year wait for a Mets no-hitter.
What had been most galling to Mets fans: The gaggle of ex-Mets who went on to throw no-hitters elsewhere. The list grew to seven just five weeks ago, when Mets draftee Philip Humber tossed a perfect game - for the Chicago White Sox.
It's a list that includes Hall of Famers such as Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan - who, incidentally, tossed the fourth of his seven no-hitters on this date 27 years ago, for the California Angels. Mike Scott and David Cone went on to author no-hitters and win Cy Young Awards elsewhere.
Santana won two of those when he was a Minnesota Twin. Now, he has a historic no-no on what's a sterling body of work.
