After nearly 44 years, it was going to happen.
Pedro Martinez was on the way to pitching the first no-hitter in Mets history. He ripped through the first six innings against the Astros last night in magical fashion, allowing just one baserunner – that coming on a fourth-inning walk.
No hits. Not yet.
“After the sixth,” Carlos Beltran said, “I thought he was going to be able to have a shot.”
Martinez got the first out in the seventh. But at that point, rookie Chris Burke came to bat. And on a 1-1 pitch, the 25-year-old second baseman smashed a 73-mph curveball into the left-field bullpen for his first major league homer, ending Martinez’s quest for history.
With the no-hit bid having expired after 61/3 innings, Martinez received an ovation from the 39,953 at Shea, and he would continue his remarkable effort the rest of the way. Two batters after Burke went yard, Lance Berkman singled to right. But that would be it – Martinez would go the distance in a dazzling 3-1 win, allowing just a run on two hits with 12 strikeouts and one walk.
“I don’t really realize it [was a no-hitter] until I hear the fans just continue to clap after [Burke] rounds second,” Martinez said. “I look over because I never looked at the scoreboard. I’m normally looking everywhere else, but not to the scoreboard. I normally just pitch.”
Last night, Martinez did something more, electrifying the Shea fans and nearly becoming the first Met ever to do the seemingly-impossible. In fact, for all his awards and accomplishments, Martinez himself never has pitched a no-no, firing “only” two one-hitters.
Fittingly, Martinez ended the night by striking out the side, the final punch-out coming against Burke. Martinez shared a quick hug with Mike Piazza and heard chants of “Pedro! Pedro!” from the crowd. As Martinez walked off the field, he pointed at the fans in a couple of directions.
“When he goes out, he just dazzles,” Willie Randolph said.
As for the Mets, they’ve won five of six and may very well be playing their best ball of the year. They’re now 31-27 – four games over .500 for the first time since July 31, 2002 – and remain a game behind Washington in the NL East.
Offensively, the Mets got key RBI hits from Cliff Floyd, Beltran and Marlon Anderson, scoring a run apiece in three different innings. That was plenty for Pedro.
The game also included some mini-fireworks when Roy Oswalt drilled Floyd in the right arm with a 94-mph fastball in the seventh. Floyd whirled around and pointed at Oswalt, shouting. Both benches emptied before the game continued.
Martinez (7-1) retired the first nine Astros, sitting down the whole lineup and doing it fairly easily. There was only one ball hit out of the infield in that span, that coming when Craig Biggio flied out to left.
“The first three innings, I was trying to be a little bit cautious. Because I didn’t know a lot of those guys,” Martinez said of the Houston lineup. “Once I got confident and saw what they were doing – they were swinging at a lot of pitches that were off the strike zone a little bit and swinging early – I took advantage of it.”
In the fourth, Martinez lost his perfect game, walking Orlando Palmeiro on four pitches to lead off. But Martinez recovered to get a double play, then enjoyed a dominating fifth and sixth. He ended the latter by striking out Oswalt with a fastball, as Shea exploded.
“He’s just really an artist when he’s on,” Piazza said.
The seventh inning began with Palmeiro grounding out to second, but three pitches later, Burke ruined the no-hitter. For Martinez, no history. But still a gem.
Gettin’ started
Pedro Martinez has allowed one run or fewer in his past four starts. Here’s a look at those games:
Date Opponent IP H R ER BB K Dec.
May 22 Yankees 7 4 1 1 1 6 ND
May 27 at Florida 8 5 0 0 0 10 W
June 2 Arizona 8 5 1 1 0 9 W
Last night Houston 9 2 1 1 1 12 W
4 Starts 32 16 3 3 2 26 3-0 (0.84 ERA)