During the offseason, the Mets threw Aaron Harang away, deciding not to offer him a contract extension or bring him back to New York. On Friday he returned in a Braves uniform and threw seven no-hit innings in Atlanta’s 6-0 rout.
David Wright’s two-out single in the eighth inning snapped Atlanta’s no-hit bid just four outs short, and spared the Mets the indignity of being no-hit for the eighth time in their history. That was about the only thing the 33,199 at Citi Field had to cheer about all night, as they watched the Mets getting smothered by a pitcher they had tossed away.
Other than Wright dropping a single into left field with two out in the eighth off Braves reliever Luis Avilan, the Mets’ lineup was dominated by Harang (3-1) for seven innings, their beleaguered bullpen got battered yet again and they showed their home struggles are very much a problem.
“His [stuff] was moving all over the place,’’ Wright said bluntly. “He was throwing any pitch, any count: Two-seamers, cutters, sliders, curveballs, you name it, he was throwing it.’’
And throwing it where the Mets couldn’t do a thing with it. They had signed Harang last Sept. 2, and the veteran right-hander went 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA in four starts for them. But the Mets didn’t offer him a contract this offseason. Friday he made a very real bid to be the first pitcher to no-hit the Mets since Houston’s Darryl Kile did it on Sept. 8, 1993.
The 35-year-old Harang allowed six walks and struck out five. He walked a pair as he tired in the sixth and seventh, putting men into scoring position. But he struck out struggling Curtis Granderson in the sixth and Andrew Brown in the seventh to strand two. It was the Mets’ last best chance.
“You’re not going to win many games getting one hit,’’ said Wright.
After Atlanta outfielder Justin Upton singled to lead off the second and catcher Evan Gattis walked. Chris Johnson doubled to deep left to plate Upton, though Jon Niese limited the damage there. He held the Braves to four hits and that lone run in his six solid innings, but dropped to a hard-luck 0-2 with a 2.84 ERA. While Niese was solid, Harang — pulled after 121 pitches — was spectacular.
Or the Mets were spectacularly bad. You make up your own mind which.
Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman crushed a 2-2 pitch into the bullpen for a two-run home run and 3-0 lead in the eighth.
Carlos Torres had relieved Niese with a scoreless seventh, but Gonzalez Germen came on having retired 31 of the last 34 batters he faced and promptly imploded, coughing up four earned runs in the eighth, contributed to by Granderson — back in the lineup after missing the past few games — badly misjudging a ball in right field.
“I think [Harang] preyed on our aggressiveness,’’ said Lucas Duda, who has inherited the first base job full-time after the trade of Ike Davis. “He used it to his advantage. Tip your cap, go out tomorrow and try to get more than one hit.’’