Tom Seaver

Sept. 26, 1971 – New York Mets 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 – Shea Stadium
No-no killed by Vic Davalillo’s seventh-inning single

Seaver this day was perfect through six, but he lost the perfect game in the seventh when he walked leadoff batter Dave Cash. Vic Davalillo followed up with a single to right that sent Cash to third and bumped the Mets’ dubious no no-nos streak up to 1,619 games. The shutout then disappeared when Joe Oliver hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Cash, cutting the Mets lead to 3-1. Seaver ended the inning by getting Willie Stargell to ground into a 1-6-3 double play, and then he put the next six batters down for the complete game win, his 19th victory of the season.

Seaver struck out 10, and the Mets’ scoring came courtesy of RBI singles by Donn Clendenon, Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee.

Gary Gentry

April 18, 1971 – New York Mets 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 2 – Game 1 of Sunday doubleheader at Shea Stadium
No-no killed by Roberto Clemente’s sixth-inning triple

Gary Gentry gave up two sixth-inning runs during his second one-hitter, but he actually got into trouble an inning earlier.

Pitching in the fifth after retiring the first 13 batters he faced, Gentry walked Al Oliver, hit Bob Robertson with a pitch and watched the two runners advance into scoring position on a Manny Sanguillen ground-out. But after Gentry intentionally walked Jackie Hernandez to face pitcher Luke Walker, he ended the inning on a strikout.

In the sixth, Gentry got Dave Cash to pop out before walking Richie Hebner, but he lost both his no-hitter and shutout on a Roberto Clemente triple to center. Willie Stargell scored Clemente with a sacrifice fly to left, but Gentry settled down to retire the next 10 batters for the complete-game, one hit victory.

Cleon Jones led the Mets’ offense by going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and 3 RBIs, and Tommie Agee (2-for-4) added a solo shot in the eighth.

Tom Seaver’s second one-hitter marked the only time in club history that Mets pitchers threw consecutive one-hitters.

The Mets had a travel day after Gentry’s one-hitter, but Seaver took the mound the next night at Connie Mack Stadium and dominated the Phillies with a 15-strikeout performance.

The only hit yielded by Seaver was a third-inning Mike Compton single, although he walked three during the night and two batters reached base on Mets’ errors.

Thirty-three years later the Mets would throw two one-hitters in three games, but Gentry’s and Seaver’s back-to-back gems remain the team’s only consecutive one-hitters.

Gary Gentry

May 13, 1970 – New York Mets 4, Chicago Cubs 0 – Wrigley Field
No-no killed by Ernie Banks eighth-inning single

Gary Gentry, the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the World Series, retired the first 12 batters during this Wednesday afternoon contest at Wrigley Field before issuing a leadoff walk to Ron Santo in the fifth.

Gentry got Johnny Callison to ground into a 6-3 double play and kept his no-hitter alive until the eighth inning, when the legendary Ernie Banks hit a two-out single to left and extended the Mets no no-hitters streak to 1,330 games.

Gentry hit pinch-hitter Willie Smith with a pitch in the ninth but retired the next two batters for a Mets 4-0 win and the team’s fifth one-hitter.

Gentry helped his cause with the bat in the fifth inning by singling home Wayne Garrett, who had a 2-for-3 day with a double and triple after replacing third-baseman Joe Foy, who was hit by a pitch in the second.

When would the next Mets’ one-hitter come? Two days later during the club’s very next game in Philadelphia.

Nolan Ryan

April 18, 1970 – New York Mets 7, Philadelphia Phillies 0 – Shea Stadium
No-no killed by Denny Doyle’s first-inning single

Two future Hall-of-Famers took the Shea Stadium mound on April 18, 1970, and each has established his own place in Mets’ no no-hitters history.

Six years prior, the Phillies’ Jim Bunning threw Shea Stadium’s only perfect game, a June 21, 1964, Father’s Day contest in which he struck out 10 batters. The last "K" victim was ninth-inning pinch-hitter John Stephenson – the 27th straight batter Bunning retired.

Nolan Ryan went on to become the king of our No-hitters … after they left the Mets page, throwing all of his Major League record seven no-hitters in other uniforms.

Ryan had no real chance of throwing the first Mets no-hitter this day, as the Phillies’ Denny Doyle tagged him for a leadoff single to boost the franchise’s no no-nos count to 1,307 games. Ryan nearly lost his shutout in the first inning after loading the bases with a couple of walks, but he pitched out of the jam.

Ryan would go on to walk six batters during the game, but he also struck out 15 batters and never yielded another hit.

Bunning lasted just two innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk.

Tom Seaver

July 9, 1969 – New York Mets 4, Chicago Cubs 0 – Shea Stadium
No-no killed by Jimmy Qualls’ one-out single in the ninth

With Hall-of-Famer Billy Williams, near Hall-of-Famer Ron Santo and Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks at the heart of the Chicago Cubs’ lineup, you wouldn’t think a rookie utility player named Jimmy Qualls would be the lone Cub to stand between Tom Seaver and a perfect game.

Qualls was 0-for-2 when he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning after Seaver retired the first 25 batters, and he would be the one to keep the 59,000 fans that packed Shea Stadium that night from witnessing history.

“A clean hit to left-center-field, and there goes the perfect game,” a matter-of-fact Ralph Kiner declared on-air.

The crowd gave Tom Terrific a standing ovation as Seaver put his hands on his hips and stared from the mound at the spot where the ball touched green.

Newark Star-Ledger columnist Steve Politi talked to Qualls recently for a NJ.com piece on the Mets’ no-hitter woes that also mentioned NoNoHitters.com.

“I’m glad I got the hit and everything, but it would have been a really big thing for him,” Qualls told Politi. “I don’t think I understood that at the time.”

Seaver would reach the ninth three more times with a no-hitter intact – two with the Mets and one with the Reds. Only the Reds game would end with a zero in the "H" column, cementing Seaver’s place on our No-hitters … after they left the Mets page.

Jack Hamilton

May 4, 1966 – New York Mets 8, St. Louis Cardinals 0 – Busch Stadium
No-no killed by Ray Sadecki bunt single in fourth

This Web site wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Cardinals’ southpaw Ray Sadecki, a one-time 20-game winner who would later join the Mets and help them win the National League pennant in 1973.

Mets’ starter Jack Hamilton had retired the first eight Cardinals batters on May 4, 1966, when Sadecki stepped up to the plate. Sadecki, looking to spark a two-out rally after spotting New York a 5-0 lead, reached base on a bunt single for what would be the game’s only hit. (The Mets franchise’s 664th no no-hitter.)

Hamilton followed by issuing Lou Brock a base on balls before striking out Alex Johnson. He would retire the next 18 Cardinals batters for the 8-0, complete-game shutout, thanks to big days at the plate by Eddie Bressoud (3-for-5, home run, 3 RBIs) and Ron Swoboda (2-for-4, home run and a double, 2 RBIs).

Hamilton had actually piched a minor-league no-hitter in 1957, throwing a seven-inning no-no for the Appalachian League Wytheville Cardinals.

On Oct. 8, 1956 during the World Series, New York Yankees starter Don Larsen pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. It remains the only post-season no-hitter.

The Dodgers’ Sal Maglie also pitched a gem, giving up just two earned runs on five hits during his eight-inning start.

The Major League postseason drought is just slightly longer than the Mets’ drought – 53 years compared to 48.

Al Jackson

June 22, 1962 – New York Mets 2, Houston Colt .45s 0 – The Polo Grounds – opener of a twi-night doubleheader
No-no killed by Joey Amalfitano single in first

The expansion New York Mets had a 2-12 record when lefty Al Jackson pitched the club’s first shutout – an April 29, 1962, 8-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets’ second shutout, also with Jackson on the mound, would also be the franchise’s first one-hitter.

Jackson retired the game’s first batter but let Joey Amalfitano reach base on a single to left for the Mets’ 65th no no-hitter. After walking Norm Larker, Jackson retired the next 22 batters before issuing a ninth-inning leadoff base-on-balls to pinch-hitter Pidge Browne. Jackson closed out the ninth with three straight outs for the complete-game shutout.

Jackson had a little help in the field during the game, according to an AP report from that day. Richie Ashburn made a leaping catch at the right field fence in the fifth to rob Jim Pendelton of a hit, and shortstop Elio Chacon made a backhand grab behind second, flipped the ball to second baseman Charlie Neal who made the throw to first to get Hal Smith.

			Not this year

Nelson Figueroa pitched a four-hit, complete game shutout Sunday as the New York Mets closed out the 2009 season with a 4-0 win that gave them a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros.

Figueroa lost his no-hitter on the first batter with a Michael Borne single, advancing our NoNoHitters.com count to 7,644 Mets games without a no-hitter and freezing it there for the season. That means the Mets in 2010 will embark on extending their no no-no streak to 49 seasons.

Angel Pagan had a 4-for-4 day, and catcher Josh Thole went 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the fourth. The Mets’ other three runs came on sacrifice flies by Luis Castillo and David Wright and an Anderson Hernandez fielder’s choice.