SEATTLE -- Forget about a no-hitter. Bartolo Colon flirted with perfection Wednesday. Colon retired the first 20 batters he faced, until Robinson Cano delivered a two-out line-drive single into left field in the seventh. The Mets ultimately held on for a 3-2 rubber-game win against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Jenrry Mejia recorded the save despite allowing two baserunners in the ninth. It marked the longest perfection bid by a Met since Matt Harvey also retired the first 20 batters on May 7, 2013 against the Chicago White Sox. The ex-Yankee Cano had been a quiet 1-for-10 in the series before the opposite-field single. Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY SportsBartolo Colon retired the first 20 batters he faced on Wednesday. Colon ran out of gas in the eighth. With the Mets leading 3-0, Colon issued a leadoff walk to Corey Hart and one-out single to Dustin Ackley. Brad Miller then nearly delivered a game-tying three-run homer. Instead, the ball struck the top of the right-center wall for an RBI double that pulled the Mariners to within 3-1. With two in scoring position and one out, Terry Collins inserted Jeurys Familia, and he got Willie Bloomquist to bounce into a run-scoring groundout (after a replay review reversed the on-field call). Familia then struck out ex-Met Endy Chavez to strand the potential tying run at third base. Colon’s final line in a 101-pitch effort: 7 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. The Mets are now 3-3 through stops in San Diego and Seattle on their second-half-opening trip. They moved back within eight games of first-place Washington, which lost against Colorado. The 41-year-old Colon was bidding to become the second-oldest pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter and the oldest to throw a perfect game. Nolan Ryan had two at an older age, at 43 and 44 with the Texas Rangers. Neither was a perfect game. Randy Johnson had a perfect game at age 40 and is the oldest ever with such a distinction. The last perfect game in the majors came on Aug. 15, 2012 by Seattle’s Felix Hernandez against Tampa Bay. Of course, Johan Santana tossed the only no-hitter in Mets history. It came on June 1, 2012 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets have made Colon available in trade talks, although there did not seem to be much in the way of scouts at Safeco Field who came to evaluate him Wednesday. The Mets gave Colon a run to work with before he took the mound on Daniel Murphy's RBI double against Taijuan Walker in the first inning. After the Mets loaded the bases against Walker in the sixth with none out, reliever Dominic Leone entered and limited the Mets to a sacrifice fly by Juan Lagares, which staked the Amazin’s to a 2-0 lead. David Wright added an RBI single the following inning. Beaned: Ruben Tejada took a 94 mph fastball from Walker directly to the front of the helmet in the fifth inning. Tejada went straight to the ground, but ultimately walked off under his own power. Eric Campbell replaced him. If Tejada lands on the concussion disabled list, the Mets could summon Wilmer Flores, who is playing nearby with Triple-A Las Vegas in Tacoma, Washington. The Mets do not have a bona fide backup shortstop on the major league roster. Campbell’s action Wednesday marked only his second major league game and fourth professional game at shortstop. What’s next: The Mets travel to NL Central-leading Milwaukee for a four-game series. Dillon Gee (4-2, 2.92 ERA) opposes right-hander Matt Garza (6-7, 4.04) in Thursday’s 8:10 p.m. series opener.
|