Heston's Little League coach sees no-hitter
Giants teammates thrilled over rookie's achievement
NEW YORK -- As Chris Heston was finishing up his final interviews near his locker after tossing a no-hitter in a 5-0 Giants victory, Brad Thomsen stood behind the pack with a wide smile on his face.
Thomsen had coached Heston throughout Little League and high school baseball and traveled from Florida to watch him pitch in the Major Leagues for the first time live Tuesday. He picked a good game for his first.
Sitting above the third-base dugout at Citi Field, Thomsen got to watch Heston dominate the Mets, tossing the first no-hitter of this baseball season and 17th in Giants history.
Did Thomsen ever believe Heston was capable of anything like this during those days at Palm Bay West Little League?
"He was a really good infielder -- shortstop, third base," Thomsen said. "I had tears in my eyes. My blood pressure and heart rate was up that last inning."
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The Giants have become accustomed to these kind of celebrations recently, as Tuesday marked the fourth consecutive year one of their pitchers has thrown a no-hitter. He was greeted with a beer shower in the clubhouse after the game as celebration.
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Heston had yet to check his cellphone before he left the clubhouse, but he certainly will have plenty more congratulations on his way.
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"I couldn't be happier for him," catcher Buster Posey said. "It's fun to see good things happen to good people."
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Heston's performance Tuesday was as dominant as it was unlikely.
He had only made the Giants' rotation after injuries to Matt Cain and Jake Peavy. This was just his 13th career start, and he stifled the Mets offense all night long on his way to the record books. He recorded 11 strikeouts and did not walk a batter, allowing three runners to reach after being hit by a pitch.
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"That was one of the most impressive pitching performances I've ever seen," Giants third baseman Matt Duffy said.
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Baseball superstition says a pitcher with a no-hitter gets ignored by his teammates in the dugout.
Justin Maxwell said he avoided making eye contact with Heston. Duffy tried to avoid his starter as well, only failing to do after an incident on the bases in the eighth inning.
Heston was doubled off on a line drive after he forgot how many outs there were, preventing Duffy from scoring. So in the dugout during the top of the ninth, three outs away from completing the biggest game of his career, Heston approached him to apologize.
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"I was like blown away that he was still thinking about it," Duffy said. "But if that helped him relax, not worry about the no-hitter, I don't know what it was.
"That was kind of funny to me that he still had the presence of mind to still be thinking about that, he wasn't completely spinning at that point."