HESTON’S BIG BITE OF THE BIG APPLE
Rookie making his 13th start threw no-hitter against the Mets
This story was originally published on June 10, 2015.
NEW YORK >> Chris Heston did not arrive in the big leagues with breathless hype or a mandate to lift a franchise.
Yet in his 13th major league start, he hoisted himself into Giants history. The 27-year-old son of a house painter and a discount store manager stood on a mound in the middle of America’s biggest media market Tuesday night, outclassed a much more heralded rookie and forced the tabloids to bold his name. Heston threw a nohitter against the New York Mets in the Giants’ 5-0 victory at Citi Field.
Only three hit batters — two in the fourth inning, one to start the ninth — separated Heston from throwing the second perfect game in Giants history. He merely became the first Giants rookie in 103 years to throw a no-hitter — the 16th in Giants lore, the ninth in the club’s San Francisco era, and their fifth in seven seasons.
Heston so utterly bewildered the Mets that they could not defend their honor in the ninth by swinging the bat. After hitting Anthony Recker with his first pitch, Heston struck out the side looking. It did not matter that Curtis Granderson and Ruben Tejada were facing him for the fourth time. They stood in the box and could not decipher a word.
With a 2-2 sinker at Tejada’s knees, Heston walked off the mound and absent-mindedly
started toward the dugout. Catcher Buster Posey flipped him a keepsake baseball that was fumbled to the grass.
“At that point, I didn’t know what to do — pick it up, or go for the hug,” Heston said. “I thought the hug was cooler.”
It was a night for Heston, Posey and a solid contingent of expat Giants fans here to wrap both arms around. Heston pitched the first nohitter by a Giants rookie since Jeff Tesreau blanked the Phillies on Sept. 6, 1912. He also became the first Giant to throw a no-hitter in New York since Carl Hubbell did it against the Pirates on May 8, 1929, at the Polo Grounds.
Along with Matt Cain’s perfect game in 2012, and Tim Lincecum’s no-hitters against the San Diego Padres, the Giants became the second team in history to receive a no-hitter in four consecutive seasons. The 1962-65 Dodgers did it, each time with Sandy Koufax on the mound.
Heston also added a tworun single against Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard, the newest of several highly anticipated young pitchers that have the borough buzzing about baseball again.
Heston did not arrive in the big leagues with that buzz. A 12th-round pick in 2009 out of East Carolina University, he was a lastminute addition to the Giants’ roster in the seasonopening series in April. When the Giants designated Heston for assignment two years ago, he went unclaimed.
He would not go unclaimed now.
“When he’s on, he’s one of the best pitchers I’ve played behind — and I’ve played behind some pretty good pitchers here,” said shortstop Brandon Crawford, whose backhand pickup of Eric Campbell’s grounder in the eighth ranked as the only play that required slightly beyond ordinary effort.
“Usually there’s a great play that saves a hit or there’ll be line drives at somebody. There really wasn’t anything. It was pretty easy, actually.”
Heston’s no-hitter was the third that Posey has caught, and he said this one had a different feel than Cain’s perfecto or Lincecum’s no-hitter in San Diego.
“I just thought the way he was moving the ball to both sides of the plate and be able to throw his offspeed pretty much any count he wanted to, and just the movement on the fastball — it had them really off balance all night,” Posey said.
“Honestly , it’s just a matter of him just trying to find his way right now. He’s still early in his career as far as still establishing what kind of pitcher he’s going to be. It’s something we all go through when we first get here, trying to figure out how to be consistent. I think that’s the challenge for every big league player. And Chris has shown he can make adjustments and that’s a huge plus. If he can keep doing that, I think he’s going to find that groove more often than not.”
Heston had no trouble going through the Mets lineup the first time, striking out five of the nine batters he faced. He started the fourth by striking out Granderson with a called sinker, but the Mets had their first baserunner when a first-pitch curveball got a piece of Ruben Tejada. Two pitches later, Heston threw a sinker that grazed Lucas Duda’s thigh.
Michael Cuddyer followed by grounding to third baseman Matt Duffy, who cleanly fielded it to start a double play.
The outs continued to come quickly for Heston: he finished with 14 of them on the ground, including one from Duda that came with Crawford shifted over to the right of second base, and 11 strikeouts. He threw 72 of his 110 pitches for strikes.
Heston singled in the eighth and spent some time on the bases, then started the ninth having thrown 96 pitches. His first delivery plunked Recker on the shoulder, but if that miss was a product of nerves, Heston soon flushed them. He struck out Danny Muno on three pitches, dropping in a curve that the pinch hitter admired to send him to the dugout.
Granderson and Tejada were just as mesmerized. And so was everyone else. It was Heston’s first no-hitter on any level.
“I definitely threw more in the backyard than real life, that’s for sure,” Heston said. “I’m just blessed, you know?”