Mets pitch no-hitter vs. Phillies: Tylor Megill and four New York pitchers combine for first no-no of 2022

The Mets threw the first no-no of the MLB season on Friday night

Five New York Mets pitchers, led by starter Tylor Megill, combined to throw the first no-hitter of Major League Baseball's season in a 3-0 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies (box score).

Megill, making his fifth start of the year, pitched the first five innings. He struck out five batters and walked three on 88 pitches. Manager Buck Showalter turned to reliever Drew Smith in the sixth as a means of playing the long game with Megill, who looks like an important part of the New York's rotation should the Mets make a serious run in the National League this year. Smith responded by notching four outs, all of them on strikeouts, and handing out a walk. 

With one out in the seventh, Showalter again went to the bullpen -- this time for lefty Joely Rodríguez, who escaped the inning with a double-play ball after issuing a walk of his own. Seth Lugo recorded the final two outs in the eighth in relief of Rodríguez, placing the Mets just three outs shy of the second no-no in franchise history. Closer Edwin Díaz then took over in the ninth, striking out Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto. 

Below are four things to know about the Mets' no-hitter.

1. An historically inefficient no-no

The Mets pitchers kept the Phillies out of the hits column, but they had to navigate plenty of traffic throughout the night. Megill and the other Mets pitchers combined to issue six walks and ran deep into counts throughout the game. As a result, the Mets required 159 pitches on the night total, the most ever in a nine-inning no-hitter, according to The Athletic's Jayson Stark.

Stark notes that the Mets' no-no is also the first time in league history that one has seen a team use exactly five pitchers.

2. Nimmo had defensive gem

It's been said that every historic pitching performance includes a certain defensive play that hints at something special on the horizon. That isn't always the case, but for the true believers, Brandon Nimmo's outstanding third-inning catch to rob Jean Segura qualifies. Take a look at Nimmo lays out to preserve the no-no while it was in its infant stages:

That's a good catch regardless; now, it's one that Mets fans will remember forever.

3. Second no-no in franchise history

The Mets' first, of course, was thrown by left-handed ace Johan Santana in June 2012 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Prior to Santana's gem, the Mets as a franchise had found the no-hitter to be an elusive achievement, with more than 50 years and 8,000 regular-season contests passing before New York recorded its first.

Santana, who threw 134 pitches that evening, would make just 10 more big-league appearances afterward. He was dreadful in those games, posting an 8.27 ERA and surrendering 68 hits and 45 runs in 49 innings. A constant flow of injuries would then cause Santana to announce his official retirement in 2018.

4. MLB's latest combined no-hitter

Blame it on the changing role of the starting pitcher, but MLB has been awash with combined no-no efforts and attempts in recent years.

The Tampa Bay Rays nearly threw a combined no-hitter last weekend against the Boston Red Sox, but lost it in the 10th inning. That would've marked the first no-hitter of the new season. MLB hadn't seen a no-no since last September, when Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to blank the now-Cleveland Guardians.

Including the Mets', MLB has now experienced six combined no-hitters since the start of the 2018 season. It marks the 315th no-hitter in league history..

[Apr 29, 2022 at 10:29 pm ET · R.J. Anderson]

Mets are two outs away.

[Apr 29, 2022 at 10:29 pm ET · R.J. Anderson]

Díaz strikes out Harper for the first out. 

[Apr 29, 2022 at 10:26 pm ET · R.J. Anderson]

Mets' closer Edwin Díaz is in to try to nail this down.

[Apr 29, 2022 at 10:13 pm ET · R.J. Anderson]

Harper, Castellanos, Realmuto -- the heart of the Phillies order -- are due up in the ninth.

[Apr 29, 2022 at 10:11 pm ET · R.J. Anderson]

If you're tuning in late, four Mets pitchers have combined for eight no-hit innings, as well as nine strikeouts and six walks.

[Apr 29, 2022 at 10:11 pm ET · R.J. Anderson]

The Mets will attempt to wrap up the second no-no in franchise history in just a few minutes.