Mets prospects throw combined no-hitter

May 9th, 2019

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies made history on Wednesday as Harol Gonzalez and Ryder Ryan combined to throw a no-hitter, the sixth in Rumble Ponies history, in a 7-0 win over Harrisburg.

"I knew what was going on in the game," Gonzalez told MiLB.com. "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 no-hitter was the first by a Mets affiliate since 2016 and the first for Double-A Binghamton since 2006.

Gonzalez, a 24-year-old who improved to 3-0 with the win, retired the first 10 batters he faced before a one-out walk in the fourth ended his chances at a perfect game.

Still, Gonzalez cruised through 6 2/3 innings, throwing 57 of his 91 pitches for strikes in the process. The right-hander issued another walk in the fifth, but promptly induced a ground-ball double play from the next batter.

The no-hitter certainly makes the outing even more impressive, but either way Gonzalez needed a strong showing against the Nationals’ affiliate. Gonzalez gave up five runs on nine hits in his last start (five innings) so this wasn’t certainly a big bounceback performance.

In the seventh inning, Gonzalez handed the ball off to Ryan, the Mets’ No. 21 prospect, who threw 26 of his 35 pitches for strikes and retired all seven of the batters he faced.

"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."

Ryan, whom the Mets acquired from the Indians back in 2017 (in exchange for Jay Bruce) also gave up five runs in his last outing (1 1/3 innings). However, like Gonzalez, Ryan bounced back to throw 2 1/3 perfect innings.

In addition to the strong performance on the mound, Gonzalez helped himself at the plate too. The pitcher came up with a two-run single that highlighted a three-run fourth. The Rumble Ponies then broke the game open with four runs in the fifth.