Padres Nearly No-Hit in NY

Mets rookie pitcher flirts with history in 5-1 win

Mets rookie left-hander Steven Matz has long been regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. On Sunday at Citi Field the Padres got a gook at just how good this kid can be.

Matz came five outs shy of throwing a no-hitter in a 5-1 win that gave New York its first series win since June. He started off the 8th inning with a strikeout of Jabari Blash, his 8th whiff of the game, to keep the no-no bid alive. But Alexei Ramirez followed with a line drive that just barely stayed fair down the first base line.

San Diego’s first hit came on Matz’s 105th and final pitch. He left to a standing ovation from the Mets faithful that had not seen their team win back-to-back games since before the All-Star break (July 6-7).

The Padres got their only run of the game in the 9th inning when Yangervis Solarte singled home Wil Myers to avoid a shutout.

The Mets took the lead early against Padres starter Clayton Richard, who was making his first appearance on the mound in a Friars uniform since 2013. Richard was not too bad, going 5.0 innings and allowing just two runs, both on solo home runs.

In the 2nd inning Wilmer Flores took Richard deep. Neil Walker did the same thing in the 4th inning. Richard allowed just one other hit, walked three and struck out three. His start likely ushers in the beginning of the Padres using a 6-man starting pitching rotation. The Friars are trying to limit the innings of some of their starters like 23-year-old Luis Perdomo and Christian Friedrich, who has already surpassed his career high in innings pitched for a season.

The Padres head to Tampa to start a 3-game series against the Rays on Monday night. Perdomo will be on the mound against Drew Smyly.

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