Matz’s no-no flirtation gives NY consecutive wins

NEW YORK — For 7 1/3 innings Sunday afternoon at Citi Field, Mets rookie left-hander Steven Matz chased history. Instead, he settled for the best start of his young career in the midst of a fierce National League Wild Card race.

A dominant Matz held the Padres hitless until the eighth inning in a 5-1 Mets victory. That’s when Alexei Ramirez smacked a clean one-out single, which somehow stayed inside the first-base line and ended Matz’s bid to join Johan Santana as the only pitchers in franchise history to record a no-hitter.

By the time Ramirez’s single caromed off the wall in foul territory, Mets skipper Terry Collins had already made up his mind that Matz’s day was done. The 25-year-old southpaw was sitting on 105 pitches, coming off a start in which he threw a career-high 120. Matz, who finished with eight strikeouts and two walks over 7 1/3 scoreless frames, exited to a raucous ovation.

Relievers …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com