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No need to update our NoNoHitters.com count as it’s Spring Training, but if this had been a real New York Mets game, John Maine’s quest for a no-no would have ended in the first inning Sunday when Miguel Tejada knocked sliced a homer over the right field wall.
So instead, we’ll take this moment to remind Mets fans that the count remains at 7,482 games without a Mets no-hitter, where it will sit for at least another month until the regular season gets underway.
The Extra Innings package doesn’t kick in until Opening Day but I’m getting to watch a replay of this afternoon’s Mets-Astros matchup on this new MLB Network. Maine worked his way out of a jam in the second inning, and Tejada’s solo shot would up being Houston’s only run as the Mets clobbered the Astros 13-1.
According to our highly unscientific poll to the right, Maine trails only Johan Santana and our vague “Some other guy” selection as the Mets pitchers most likely to throw the club’s first no-no. Maine, of course, took a no-no into the 8th against the Florida Marlins on Sept. 29, 2007, before giving up a single to Paul Hoover. Maine, Willie Collazo and Carlos Muniz were instead credited with a combined one-hitter.
Fans’ best no-hit hope, Santana, threw during a brief bullpen session and looked like he was smiling and laughing, which is a good sign.
The Mets offense caught fire in an 8-run third inning that included a Brian Schneider grand slam and a three-run wind-assisted blast by Carlos Delgado.
