Giants' Heston no-hits Mets
NEW YORK -- Another year, another no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants.
Rookie right-hander Chris Heston, making just his 13th career start, became the latest Giants pitcher to join the no-hitter club Tuesday night, when he struck out 11 New York Mets en route to a dominating 5-0 victory at Citi Field.
The no-hitter is the fourth by the Giants in the past four seasons and their fifth since 2009. Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter on July 10, 2009, snapped a nearly 33-year drought for the Giants, who have been making up for lost time ever since.
Right-hander Matt Cain -- whose flexor tendon injury in spring training opened up a rotation spot for Heston -- threw a perfect game on June 13, 2012, and right-hander Tim Lincecum threw no-hitters on July 13, 2013, and June 25, 2014.
The 27-year-old Heston, who threw 72 of his 110 pitches for strikes, is the first rookie to throw a no-hitter since right-hander Clay Buchholz did it for the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 1, 2007.
The Mets' only hard-hit ball against Heston came in the eighth, when third baseman Eric Campbell grounded into the hole in shortstop. Brandon Crawford made a nice backhanded stop and threw Campbell out by a couple steps as Heston pumped his fist.
New York was no-hit for the first time since Sept. 8, 1993, when Darryl Kile performed the feat for the Houston Astros.
As the outs dwindled, a crowd of 23,155 filled with plenty of fans in Giants black and orange openly rooted for Heston, who took the mound in the ninth inning as Bush's "Machinehead" -- with the lyrics "Breathe in, breathe out" -- played over the loudspeaker.
After hitting catcher Anthony Recker with his first pitch of the ninth, Heston struck out pinch hitter Danny Muno, right fielder Curtis Granderon and second baseman Ruben Tejada, all looking. After whiffing Tejada, Heston pumped his fists and hugged catcher Buster Posey as the Giants' dugout and bullpen emptied.
Only a brief spate of wildness by Heston in the fourth inning -- when he plunked Tejada and first baseman Lucas Duda in a three-pitch span -- kept him from perfection.
Heston also helped his own cause with a two-run single in the fourth. Third baseman Matt Duffy and second baseman Joe Panik hit solo homers.
Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard (2-4) allowed four runs in six innings.
Posey finished with three of the Giants' 13 hits, and Heston, Duffy, Panik and left fielder Nori Aoki had two apiece.
NOTES: Both teams had last-minute lineup changes. Mets C Kevin Plawecki, who has been battling a sinus infection, felt dizzy during batting practice and was benched for Anthony Recker. About half an hour before first pitch, the Giants scratched RF Gregor Blanco and replaced him with Justin Maxwell. ... Giants RF Hunter Pence missed his seventh straight game due to right wrist tendinitis. Manager Bruce Bochy said Pence could be headed to the disabled list if he doesn't display improvement by Wednesday. ... A pair of injured Mets, C Travis d'Arnaud and 2B Dilson Herrera, were in the lineup for Triple-A Las Vegas' afternoon game against El Paso. Both players could be activated as soon as Wednesday. ... One of the ceremonial first pitches was thrown by Victor Espinoza, the jockey who rode American Pharoah to horse racing's first Triple Crown in 37 years.