Giants Fall To Mets On Peavy's Near-Perfect Outing
Jake Peavy took little solace in knowing he had a perfect game going into the seventh inning - especially after the night ended with another loss.
Peavy was outpitched by Jacob deGrom in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.
"There are a lot of positives. I had really good command, threw the ball mostly where I want to," Peavy said. "But it is just hard to dwell on that right now with your team losing the game."
Pablo Sandoval doubled off deGrom with two outs in the top of the seventh for the game's first hit.
Peavy (1-11) was perfect until Daniel Murphy hit a one-out double into the bottom of the seventh on a ball that left fielder Michael Morse misjudged. The Mets went on to score four runs to back deGrom (6-5), and hand Peavy a defeat in his 11th straight decision, a streak that started with Boston.
Peavy had never taken a no-hit try past 5 1-3 innings, but the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner was dealing in his second start for San Francisco. He allowed four runs and four hits in seven innings.
This was the second time this season that a game didn't have any hits until there were two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Milwaukee's Matt Garza and Atlanta's Aaron Harang each had their no-hit bids broken up in the seventh on April 2.
Murphy's double came soon after there was a brief delay when Sandoval ran into the third-base railing chasing a foul ball.
Morse took his first step in on Murphy's line drive and couldn't recover, setting off the Mets' four-run inning. Travis d'Arnaud had a sacrifice fly, Juan Lagares hit an RBI single and Wilmer Flores added a two-run double.
"I was playing shallow in, and he hit it pretty good, it just kept going away towards the line," Morse said.
In a scoreless game, Giants manager Bruce Bochy never considered replacing Morse in left field.
"You hate to take out one of your big bats in the seventh in a tie game, never know what is going to happen," Bochy said.
Both deGrom and Peavy got some help in keeping the bases clear until Brandon Belt walked with two outs in the fifth.
The Mets backed their starter with fine glovework, while Peavy benefited from a replay call. DeGrom, batting eighth in the Mets' lineup was initially safe for an infield hit in the third, but was the ruling was reversed.
DeGrom was pulled with one out in the eighth following pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa's two-run single. In a career-high 7 1-3 innings, the lanky 26-year-old allowed four hits and two runs. He struck out seven in his 15th career start.
"I knew it at the fifth inning so it was kind of a mental battle," deGrom said of the dual no-hitters, "but I was sticking to the plan we had and I was going right after the guys."
Jenrry Mejia put runners on the corners in the ninth but got former St. John's star Joe Panik to ground out for his 16th save.
Giants: Catcher Hector Sanchez, on the seven-day concussion list since July 26, went through a full workout. Bochy says he's not sure if Sanchez will need rehab games before he returns.
Mets: Right-hander Jeremy Hefner made his fifth minor league start since having Tommy John surgery Aug. 28. He allowed two runs and two hits over four innings for Class A St. Lucie.
Giants: Madison Bumgarner (12-8) takes a 2-0 record with a 1.80 ERA into his fourth career start against the Mets. Bumgarner can hit, too. He has two grand slams this year.
Mets: The 41-year-old Bartolo Colon (10-8) is going for his 200th win.
Mets: Lagares, left fielder Eric Young Jr. and first baseman Lucas Duda all made spectacular catches early to help protect deGrom's gem. DeGrom was most grateful for Lagares' diving attempt on Sandoval's sinking liner to left-center that broke up the no-hit bid.
Giants: Hunter Pence made a sliding catch in foul territory in right field to help Peavy's perfect-game bid in the sixth inning.
Before the game, a fan injured his arm when he fell over a railing above the left-field wall and landed on the warning track.