When your ace starting pitcher gives you eight solid innings and leaves you up 5-2 in the ninth, you’re pretty much expecting a happy blog post.

But with Billy Wagner suffering from shoulder muscle spasms, the Mets bullpen gave up six ninth-inning runs to squander a more than win-worthy performance by Johan Santana.

This is not the way to start a three-game series with your co-N.L. East leaders … or should I say former co-N.L. East leaders, as the Mets are now a game back

Pat Burrell’s single to left in the first killed Santana’s no-hitter bid, marking the 7,420th time a Mets pitcher has failed in that department. One positive is that Santana surpassed 1,500 career strikeouts.

Not much more to say about this game

The Philadelphia Phillies will enter Shea Stadium Tuesday with only a share of the N.L. East lead.

The New York Mets scored two unearned runs in the top of the tenth Sunday to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-5. Meanwhile, back in Miami, the Marlins’ Jorge Cantu hit a walkoff single in the 11th to beat the Phils. The two ad up to a Mets-Phillies tie heading into their three-game series beginning Tuesday night in New York.

Mets starter Mike Pelfrey gave up three home runs in his outing. The first of those, an Adam Dunn blast to right to leadoff the second inning, advanced our NoNoHitters.com count to 7,419 games without a New York Mets no hitter.

The Mets left 14 runners on the basepaths during the night, but they took advantage of an Edwin Encarnacion error to pull out a well-needed win.

Bring on the Phils.

The New York Mets wasted 10 hits by grounding into three double-plays, the heart of the batting order stranded the bases loaded and the bullpen reverted to its early-season ways Saturday night as the Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds 7-2.

Starter Oliver Perez wasn’t stellar, but he pitched decent enough to give his team a chance. He lasted six innings, striking out six batters while giving up six hits, three walks and three runs (two of them earned).

The Mets, down 3-2 in the seventh, rallied to load the bases, but the effort came to an abrupt halt when David Wright and Carlos Beltran each struck out looking. The Reds responded in the bottom half of the seventh by beating up on the Mets’ bullpen with four runs to put the game away.

Perez lost his no-hitter in the first inning when Jeff Keppinger singled to left center to bump our count to 7,418 Mets games without a no-hitter.

It was the Mets’ second straight loss after winning the previous 10 games. Fortunately the Phillies lost to the Marlins, so the Mets remain a game back in the National League East.

The Mets’ winning streak ended at 10 Friday night as the Cincinnati Reds tagged starter John Maine for five runs en route to a 5-2 victory.

Carlos Beltran went 2-for-4 with an RBI, but the Mets managed just two other hits in the game. The Reds, meanwhile, had just six hits, but it was enough for the victory as runs scored both on a walk and a hit batsman.

Maine lost the no hitter right off the bat as Jay Bruce led off the first inning with a single to left. It marked the 905th time during the Mets’ 46 1/2-year history that their pitcher has given up a leadoff hit.

The New York Mets - down two runs to the Cincinnati Reds heading into the ninth - rallied for four runs to capture their tenth straight victory and a share of the lead in the National League East.

The Mets’ 14 hits during their 10-8 victory included two-run homers by Carlos Delgado, Fernando Tatis and David Wright. Delgado knocked in the go-ahead run with a slice to left-center in the ninth, and Tatis added an insurance run with a double down the left field line. Billy Wagner retired the bottom half of the inning for his 23rd save of the season.

Starter Johan Santana lasted just four innings, giving up five earned runs, six hits (two of them homers) and three walks. He lost his no hitter in the second inning when Edwin Encarnacion singled to center, making it 7,416 Mets games without a no hitter.

With the Philadelphia Phillies idle, the Mets took a share of the N.L. East. The win streak marks the Mets’ longest since 1991.

Following close in second place as we pause for the All-Star break is John Maine, trailing Santana by just two votes at 25 percent.

Our third-place answer - ahead of Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, Pedro Martinez, Nelson Figueroa, Claudio Vargas, Tony Armas Jr. and Orlando Hernandez - is “Some other guy” at 24 percent.

That’s right. A quarter of our site’s voters think a future prospect, free agent signee or AAA call-up will do what Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Dwight Gooden, David Cone and Tom Glavine couldn’t do in a Mets uniform. Or maybe voters think this 7,415 game no no-hitter streak will never end.

Do we have to take an All-Star break?

The New York Mets won their ninth straight game Sunday night as Mike Pelfrey threw eight innings of six-hit shutout ball and the Mets’ bats provided plenty of run support. The Phillies also won, which leaves the Mets a half game back in the National League East. I think I prefer being a half game back rather than a half game up at this point, as it sends the message that there’s a long way to go before anyone can label this season a success.

The Mets jumped on the board early when Carlos Beltran hammered a three-run shot over the left field bleachers in the first inning. Delgado also pried the giant apple out of the hat with a two-run blast in the fifth.

The Mets have now played 7,415 games without a single no-hitter. And, for the 26th time this season, the Mets lost the no-hitter on the first batter as Pelfrey yielded a leadoff single to Scott Podsednik. It’s the seventh time this season Pelfrey has given up a leadoff hit, so maybe he likes to get that Mets 46 1/2-year baggage out of way early.

But Pelfrey was once again incredibly sharp as he walked none (he did hit a batter in the eighth) and struck out five en route to his eighth victory of the season. Joe Smith gave up one hit in the ninth but kept the shutout in tact.

As far as these potential Mets No-hitters killed by first at bat, we are way over our quota for the year. Over the past 46 years, the Mets have averaged 19 first-batter no-hitter break-ups per season. This year we’ve already had 26 - and we’re just reaching the All-Star break. Amazing.

Pedro Martinez, Carlos Muniz, Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis and Billy Wagner combined for the 31st full-length one-hitter in New York Mets history Saturday as the Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 3-0 and moved to within a half game of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies.

Martinez was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning after dealing with tightness in his right shoulder. He lost his no-hitter in the top half of the inning when Brad Hawpe singled to right, making it 7,414 Mets games without a no-hitter.

But the bullpen finished out the game without allowing another hit for the first Mets one-hitter since Sept. 29, 2007. On that day, John Maine (7 2/3 innings), Willie Collazo (1/3 inning) and Muniz (1 inning) combined to one-hit the Florida Marlins 13-0, giving the team a chance to reach the postseason on the final day of the 2007 season. (We all know that didn’t happen)

The Mets have now allowed three hits or less in five straight games - a Major League record according to MLB.com - after following up their previous four three-hit performances. More importantly, the Mets earned their eighth straight victory as they climb into contention in the National League East as the All-Star break approaches.

We all know how rare a Mets no-hitter is (I’m hoping to eventually see one in my lifetime) but Mets pitchers have come just one hit shy of the glorious no-no 31 times (not counting two 2007 rain-shortened one-hitters). Tom Seaver threw five of them, while Jon Matlack, Gary Gentry, David Cone and Steve Trachsel each had two (Cone also participated in a third). With Saturday’s performance, Muniz has now participated in two.

For the full list of Mets one-hitters, visit our One-hitters by Mets pitchers page.

As far as no-hitters go, Billy Wagner (who saved Saturday’s one-hitter with a perfect ninth) participated in one when he was a member of the Houston Astros.

In that June 11, 2003 game, Roy Oswalt (1 inning), Peter Munro (2 2/3 innings), Kirk Saarloos (1 1/3 innings), Brad Lidge (2 innings), Octavio Dotel (1 inning) and Wagner (1 inning) combined to beat the New York Yankes 8-0. That game is significant in that it was the only inter-league no-hitter (although Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series perfect game is technically inter-league) and it represents the most pitchers used to combine for a no-hitter.

The New York Mets won their seventh straight game Friday night, but Oliver Perez lost his bid for the team’s first no-hitter in the top of the fifth when the Colorado Rockies’ Brad Hawpe homered to right.

Right fielder Endy Chavez could only watch as the ball sailed over the fence, increasing to 7,413 the number of Mets games since their 1962 inception without a single no-hitter.

July’s most prolific teams in terms of run scoring (both the Rockies and Mets have been averaging nearly 7 runs a game this month) were locked in a pitchers’ duel until Damion Easley hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the eighth. The Rockies loaded the bases in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but could not get the go-ahead run to the plate.

The game was was the Mets’ pitching staff’s fourth straight three-hitter, the first time an MLB team has gone four straight games allowing three hits or less since the 1974 Baltimore Orioles (thanks to Mets Walk-Offs for that tidbit). The Mets also became the first NL team in the live-ball era (1920 and later) to accomplish that feat.

Perez’s Friday night performance marked the deepest a Mets pitcher went without yielding a hit since Mike Pelfrey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on May 15. And it was the 153rd time a potential Mets no-hitter was broken up in the fifth inning, according to some research done earlier this year by Retrosheet.

In fact, Mets pitchers have made it through four or more no-hit innings 257 times during their 46-plus years of existence.

Here’s the breakdown:

• 153 potential Mets no-hitters were broken up in the fifth
• 64 potential Mets no-hitters were broken up in the sixth
• 22 potential Mets no-hitters were broken up in the seventh
• 15 potential Mets no-hitters were broken up in the eighth
• 3 potential Mets no-hitters were broken up in the ninth

*Some information used in this post was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at www.retrosheet.org.

Fernando Tatis continues to come through for the Mets.

The 33-year-old outfielder went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a homer to knock in four runs and lead New York to a 7-3 win over the San Francisco Giants - the team’s sixth straight victory. The Mets have allowed just three hits each in their last three games.

The Mets jumped on the board in the third when Carlos Beltran singled in Argenis Reyes. Tatis followed with a doubled to right center, scoring David Wright and Beltran.

Maine entered the top of the fourth with his no-hitter in tact, but he would lose both the no-hitter and the shutout that half inning. John Bowker doubled to right center. Bowker reached third on a ground out before scoring on a wild pitch. The lost no-no would mark the 7,412th time in the team’s 46-plus-year history that the opposing team has got at least one hit.

Maine struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings worth of work, but he also walked five and that contributed to letting the Giants climb back into the game. After walking pitcher Barry Zito and Fred Lewis, Maine gave up a two-run double to Randy Winn. It was only the Giants’ second hit but it put the score at 3-3.

No problem, though, as the Mets’ recent onslaught of late inning runs continued. Tatis hit a two run homer in the seventh and the Mets tacked on a couple of insurance runs. And the bullpen was again brilliant.