8,020 games into the team's 50-year history, the New York Mets no-hitter drought is over. The Queens, NY-based baseball team finally has one, thanks mostly to the hard work of its ace pitcher, Johan Santana.
Johan Santana, #Mets, and #nohitter were all atop Twitter's trends minutes after Johan threw his 134th pitch (the most in his major league career) to clinch the no-hit effort, finishing the Mets' trampling of the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-0.
In a post-game interview, reporters asked Santana if he had ever pitched a no-hitter in the minors or little league. "I don't even think I've thrown a no-hitter in video games," laughed Santana.
Getting there wasn't without drama. Johan walked five batters, got a helpful call on a foul ball (replay showed it was fair) and outfielder Mike Baxter made an amazing catch before crashing into the outfield wall and injuring his shoulder.
The final pitch? A perfectly executed change-up.
Expect the Internet to explode with photos, videos, GIFs and memes from the game. We have our own contribution above: It’s the last batter and winning pitch before the final score and recognition of the no hitter was posted on the scoreboard.
Below is a sampling of tweets about the game, including one from the New York Mets own account which notes that the no-hitter pushed them over 100,000 followers.