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Braves righty Aaron Harang and lefty Luis Avilan were four outs away from a combined no-hitter against the Mets on Friday night. David Wright singled solidly to left to break up the no-no.
Harang, 35, threw 121 pitches through the first seven innings, striking out five and walking six. He was pretty clearly laboring in the seventh and it looked unlikely he would (or should) continue. Harang's career-high is 135 pitches way back in 2006.
The 24-year-old Avilan took over to start the eighth inning and retired the first two men he faced before allowing the single to Wright. It was a solid, line drive single to left on a hanging curveball, not a cheap bloop or infield single or anything like that.
The closest the Mets came to a hit against Harang probably came in the second inning, when Travis d'Arnaud nearly beat out an infield single. The play was close but not reviewed. Several hard hit balls were hit right at defenders, but all were turned into outs.
The last Braves no-hitter came in 1994, when Kent Mercker did the honors against the Dodgers. The Mets were last no-hit by the late Darryl Kile in 1993.
Homer Bailey, Tim Lincecum and Henderson Alvarez each pitched a no-hitter in 2013.
