NEW YORK — One strikeout, followed by another whiff, and then another. Suddenly, nine consecutive batters retired, including 17 of the last 18. This was getting real; Max Scherzer had the look.
In his first home start as a Met, Scherzer carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the Mets’ 3-1 win over the Giants in Game 2 of a Tuesday doubleheader. Of the 18 batters he’d faced up until that point, only one had reached base, on a walk. Mets fans, filling up Citi Field on a cold and windy night, were living on every pitch. Hey, he did it as a National against the Mets back in 2015 at Citi Field. What was stopping him from doing it again, this time as a Met, seven years later?
Then Scherzer gave up a two-out walk, and another walk. Ultimately, Giants designated hitter Darin Ruf ended Scherzer’s no-hit bid in the sixth with an RBI single to left field. Scherzer finished the sixth at 94 pitches, and he looked gassed after those back-to-back walks, so it was somewhat surprising when he came back out for the seventh.
