Five Mets Pitchers Combine for No-Hitter Win Against Phillies

The rotation spot due up for the Mets on Friday night was the one that would have belonged to Jacob deGrom, who has been known to make his fair share of history on the mound, if only the ace had been healthy to start the year. 

Instead, it went again to Tylor Megill, the unassuming right-hander who stepped into deGrom’s slot on Opening Day and ran with the opportunity. 

On Friday, that included a run-in with the record books that a relay of relievers behind him helped reach the finish line. 

Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz combined for a no-hitter, blanking the Phillies for a 3-0 win in front of 32,416 on a brisk, windy night at Citi Field. 

Together, the Mets’ five pitchers walked six batters and struck out 12 while throwing to catcher James McCann. They secured just the second no-hitter in franchise history — 10 years after Johan Santana threw his by himself — and the 17th combined no-hitter in MLB history. 

“It’s the first one I’ve been a part of and I’m glad it’s with this group of guys,” said Megill, who threw the first five innings. “I’m ecstatic.” 

The dance with history marked the latest clutch moment early this season for the Mets (15-6), especially as they shut down a powerful Phillies (10-11) offense that had scored 32 runs over its last four games before Friday. And it came as a late surprise to most of the pitchers involved. 

“Nobody knew in the bullpen, not a single person,” Smith said. 

Except at least one: the reliever tasked with finishing off the game that would etch them all into Mets history. 

Still, Diaz responded by striking out the side against the heart of the Phillies’ order. He got Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto each whiffing at sliders, with the roar of the crowd crescendoing with every pitch — so much so that when Diaz entered the game, McCann told him they would be using old-fashion finger signals for pitches because he knew it would be too loud to hear the PitchCom. 

“I just followed James,” Diaz said after a clubhouse celebration that Rodriguez described as “crazy.” 

Buck Showalter had made a pair of defensive substitutions to begin the top of the ninth, wanting his best fielders on the diamond to make sure no ball would find the grass to ruin a memorable night. As it turned out, Diaz only needed McCann. 

“Once [Diaz] had Realmuto down to the last strike, you get this super tingly feeling of excitement,” said Pete Alonso, whose solo homer in the sixth followed Jeff McNeil’s two-run double in the fifth to give the Mets all the offense they would need. 

“You’re like, ‘I hope this is it. I hope he doesn’t hit a broken-bat duck-fart over somebody’s head or anything.’ You’re just praying, it’s like, ‘Please, please, please let this happen.’ The way the crowd got into it at the end, it was truly special.” 

The obligatory defensive gem that saves any good no-hitter came in the third inning, when Jean Segura hit a line drive to right-center field. Brandon Nimmo sprinted over and dove to make the catch, though the weight of the out did not fully sink in until innings later. 

“That one was kind of right in my sweet spot,” Nimmo said. 

After Megill needed 88 pitches to get through five innings, he handed the ball to Smith, the emerging right-hander who walked one and struck out four against the top of the Phillies’ lineup. 

Rodriguez and Lugo — both of whom Showalter said needed to pitch because neither had since Sunday — entered next. Rodriguez walked Kyle Schwarber — the slugger walked in all three plate appearances — with one out in the seventh before quickly getting Alec Bohm to ground into an inning-ending double play. 

Lugo came on in the top of the eighth with a runner on first and one out. He fell behind both batters he faced, but induced two weak pop-ups to send the no-hit bid to the ninth. 

“There was such a small margin of error for those guys,” Showalter said. “You’re a walk and a blast from having a tie game very quickly. … Our guys were more about trying to win a game and the end result [was a no-hitter].”

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