Johan Santana has thrown the first no-hitter in the history of the New York Mets. The 33-year-old ace of the Mets' staff went the distance against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field without surrendering a hit in an 8-0 win.
Through eight innings, Santana had thrown 122 pitches while striking out seven and walking five. He faced the heart of the Cardinals' order in the top of the ninth, retiring Matt Holiday, Allen Craig and David Freese to make history in Queens. All told, he threw 134 pitches. The final pitch of the game was yet another signature change-up from the two-time Cy Young winner that Freese swung over.
Speaking with Kevin Burkhardt of SNY on the field after the final out, the first word uttered by Santana was "amazing." For a franchise described lovingly as "Amazin" even if the results were intermittently anything but, it was a choice of words as spot on as his final pitch.
"Amazing. I mean, coming in to this season, I was just hoping to come back. You know? And [to] stay healthy and help this team. And now, I'm in this situation in the greatest city for baseball," said Santana before addressing the fans at Citi Field. "I'm very happy and happy for you guys. Finally! The first one!."
Asked about the final strikeout, Santana said it was "the greatest feeling ever."
There were tens of thousands of fans in Queens and potentially millions more at home (and on Twitter) who felt the same way. The franchise had previously played 8,019 games -- stretching back to April 11, 1962 when Casey Stengel gave the ball to Roger Craig for the first game in club history -- without adding a no-no to its resume.
Entering the season, Santana's future was uncertain. Before the team's season opener, Santana had not appeared since Sept. 2010 and had undergone serious shoulder surgery.
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