Two Mets prospects combined for a no-hitter with Double-A Binghamton in Wednesday's 7-0 win against the Harrisburg Senators.
Harol Gonzalez struck out six batters in 6 2/3 innings while Ryder Ryan finished it off by retiring all seven batters he faced for the Rumble Ponies' first no-hitter in 13 years.
"Pretty much everything was working for me," Gonzalez said, according to MILB.com's Michael Avallone. "I looked at video from my last start and then some from earlier. I got back to using my legs more, which helped my fastball and throwing it for strikes. My curve was in the dirt a little too much early on, but I got it working in the sixth and went from there."
Gonzalez, a 24-year-old right-hander who has been in the Mets organization since 2014, walked just two batters. He was at 91 pitches before he was lifted for Ryan, a reliever who joined the Mets' farm system in the 2017 Jay Bruce trade.
"I knew what was going on in the game," Gonzalez said. "I had similar situations [potential no-hitters] back in 2015 and 2016, so I really tried not to worry about it too much. But it was an exciting thing for us. It felt so good to be a part of and have it finished. I just wanted the game to end quickly after I came out."
The game itself was not in much doubt. The Rumble Ponies scored three runs in the fourth inning and four in the fifth, thanks in part to Gonzalez. At the plate, he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, hitting a two-run single in the third inning that made it 3-0.
He was lifted for Ryan with two outs and no one on in the seventh inning. While he said he knew the circumstances, Ryan said he wasn't aware of the no-hitter until after the fact.
He struck out Bryan Mejia on a foul tip to start the ninth. He got Luis Sardinas to fly out to left for the second out, then finished it off by getting Luis Garcia to fly out to center fielder Braxton Lee.
"Any time I go into the game, I'm trying to focus on my job," Ryan said. "That's what I've done my entire pro career. It's my job to come into tough situations sometimes and nail it down. I didn't even know [about the no-hitter] until the last out was made. But it was a cool feeling and I was certainly pumped when the game ended. It was a good win for the boys and that's the most important thing."
While Ryan is ranked the Mets' No. 21 prospect by MLB.com, Gonzalez isn't among the top 30. But this season, Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 2.88 ERA in five games (four starts), holding opponents to a .184 batting average and striking out 30 batters in 25 innings.
"We were all talking about how great he pitched," Ryan said. "Harol did well and that was probably the best I've ever seen him. He was in the zone and focused. It was awesome to watch."