Heston flips no-hitter
NEW YORK — Chris Heston handled the New York Mets with ease. Explaining his accomplishment was the hard part.
The 27-year-old rookie had just thrown baseball’s first no-hitter this season, in his 13th major league start, and here he was in the interview room, flanked by San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy and catcher Buster Posey, trying to detail a most unexpected moment.
“Definitely something I’ll remember forever,” Heston said
Heston threw called third strikes past pinch-hitter Danny Muno, Curtis Granderson and Ruben Tejada in the ninth inning, completing a 5-0 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.
In a championship rotation filled with All-Stars, his name is the one that sticks out as lacking pedigree.
He is far from the prototypical major league pitcher.
Drafted on the 47th round, he stayed in school.
Drafted on the 29th round, he stayed in school.
Taken on the 12th round, he finally signed with San Francisco in 2009.
And in an era of radar gun worship, Heston didn’t throw a pitch faster than 91 mph.
“It’s not always how hard you throw,” Bochy said. “It’s your command. It’s your ability to mix up your pitches, keep them off balance, hit your spots, pitch to your defense. Sure, it’s nice to have that 95-99 (mph), but if you’re off a little bit, hitters are going to catch up with that, trust me.”
Heston (6-4) allowed three baserunners — hitting Tejada, Lucas Duda and Anthony Recker with pitches. According to STATS, it was the third no-hitter since 1914 in which all the runners who reached did so on hit batters — and the first with more than one.
The right-hander struck out 11 — six looking — and allowed just two balls into the outfield, flyouts by Wilmer Flores in the second inning and Michael Cuddyer in the seventh.
Heston called it the greatest moment of his life.
“This has got to be No. 1, probably right next to my first big league appearance,” he said.
After freezing Tejada with a 91 mph sinker for the final out, Heston didn’t jump, didn’t raise his arms in triumph.
He hopped off the mound with two steps toward the Giants dugout, slapped his glove with his bare hand, then turned, walked toward home plate and hugged Posey.
“I wasn’t too sure where to go after that last out,” Heston said in an aw-shucks manner, looking boyish despite a day or two of stubble.
He took the ball from the final out with him, but didn’t have any designated place to display it. He doesn’t have a trophy case.
“I don’t have enough stuff for one,” he said.
Heston threw 72 of 110 pitches for strikes in the 35th complete-game no-hitter by a rookie in major league history, according to STATS, the first since Boston’s Clay Buchholz in 2007.
