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Johan Santana pitched 7 2/3 strong innings Sunday night to lead the New York Mets to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and bring the team back over .500.
Juan Pierre again had a leadoff hit – this time a double – to drive the NoNoHitters.com count to 7,375 games without a no-no. It’s the 894th time a Mets pitcher has yielded an opening hit, so we’ve again updated our No hitters killed by first at bat page.
Santana (7-3) yielded just four additional hits, giving up just one earned run while striking out six. Scott Schowenweis got the third out in the eighth after Joe Smith came in for Santana but hit the only batter he faced. Pedro Feliciano pitched a flawless ninth to seal the game.
Ryan Church returned to the lineup with a 3-for-4 day with a home run and two RBIs. David Wright also went 3-for-4, and Beltran hit a two-run homer.
