Friday marked just the 21st game in a season of 162 — plus, the Mets hope, much more — but it was one they could bask in a little longer than the typical April game.
And one they also hope can be another building block for the kind of season they are chasing after.
The combined no-hitter from Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz against the Phillies was still fresh in the Mets clubhouse on Saturday afternoon, with those involved only beginning to digest what had gone down Friday night at Citi Field.
“Surreal,” Megill said of the aftermath Saturday. “Lot of family, lot of friends, text messages. It was a lot to take in. Really restless last night, didn’t get a lot of sleep. Just obviously in the moment and everything. So I slept in today. Next day, right back at it, nothing really changes.”
Manager Buck Showalter, after presiding over his second no-hitter as manager — the first was Jim Abbott’s with the Yankees in 1993 — said he usually lets himself enjoy a win for the 10 steps that it takes to get from the dugout to the clubhouse.
“That one’s a little bit longer,” Showalter said. “I had a lot of fun watching the guys up here [in their joint postgame press conference], their give and take. I think it’s apropos because it was so much of a team no-hitter. Good defensive plays, multiple guys. I hope it says a lot about the way we’re going to have to do things — every team does, to get where you want to get.”
Megill echoed that sentiment. The Mets needed 159 pitches from five pitchers, James McCann calling a strong game from behind the plate, Brandon Nimmo making a diving catch to rob Jean Segura of a hit in the third inning, Jeff McNeil roping a two-run double in the fifth to grab a lead and Pete Alonso crushing a solo homer in the sixth for a bit more breathing room, and more to fully secure the second no-hitter in franchise history.
“Everybody in the game got a piece of an out,” Megill said. “It wasn’t just the pitchers, it was the whole team. So I felt like it was definitely a great bond for the team just because all the people that did play in the game were a part of it.”
It made for more challenges in splitting up the memorabilia from the game — while the ball from the final out was in the hands of the Mets’ foundation with its final destination to be determined, Megill said he was keeping his jersey, hat and a ball while Diaz had his jersey, hat and cleats — but it could pay greater dividends for the team down the road.
“It’s good camaraderie for the team,” Megill said. “Obviously we’re playing really well and the momentum’s going. Moments like these are very special and really mold a team together, I believe. Keeps us going on the right track knowing that we got what it takes.”
The Mets already had another game like that earlier this week, as their five-run rally in the ninth inning of a win over the Cardinals on Monday certainly had legs to resonate for more than one night.
Then on Friday, the combined no-hitter took another step in molding what the Mets hope is their identity throughout the year.
“I think the most impressive part about our team is if it’s not one guy that’s gonna get you, it’s another guy,” McCann said. “Guys picking up each other coming out of the pen, throwing up more zeroes in multiple columns. That’s kind of just been the identity of our team this early in the year. … It’s been a full team effort to get where we are today.”