Rea of hope: Righty aims for Padres’ history

SAN DIEGO — Colin Rea couldn’t quite finish off his bid at Padres no-hit history Thursday night. But, if anything, Rea’s outing in a 5-3 victory over the Mets reinforced the notion that the future is very bright for the 25-year-old right-hander.

Rea turned in the best start of his young career, holding the Mets to one run on three hits over a personal-best eight-plus innings. He didn’t allow a hit until Yoenis Cespedes bounced a shift-beating grounder to the right side with two outs in the seventh.

“I don’t know how you can get much better, considering what he did,” said Padres catcher Derek Norris. “Flirting with a no-hitter through seven innings, that speaks volumes, especially to a team that’s been as hot offensively as [the Mets] have been.”

The Padres have preached efficiency with Rea, who has, at times, gotten himself in trouble with walks. In three of his five starts this season, Rea needed at least 90 pitches to get through five innings or fewer.

That wasn’t the case …

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