7:10 PM ET, April 18, 2014
Citi Field, New York, New York
Citi Field, New York, New York
Associated Press
Harang, Bullpen Combine For One-Hitter
Harang didn't allow a hit for seven innings but was pulled after 121 pitches, and reliever Luis Avilan gave up David Wright's two-out single in the eighth as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 6-0 Friday night.
"It wasn't that tough of a decision, really," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
As Harang's pitch count increased on a chilly evening, it seemed doubtful he would go the distance. Harang walked six, including two in the sixth inning and another pair in the seventh.
"I know how it works," he said.
Sure does.
In 2011, in his first start for San Diego after missing a month because of a foot injury, he pitched no-hit ball for six innings and was taken out after 95 pitches.
Harang retired the first two Mets batters in the seventh, then went to full counts on the next three. He threw 23 pitches in the inning.
"If I'm through eight, I'm going back out," Harang said.
Harang (3-1) left for a pinch hitter during a long, four-run eighth. He was never in the on-deck circle -- the decision had already been made.
Gonzalez had Harang's health in mind. The 35-year-old righty said he fought his manager, but not much.
"I know it's probably the hardest decision he's ever going to have to make," Harang said. "He reiterated multiple times, 'Man, I hate doing that.' "
Gonzalez said it wasn't quite that difficult.
"I want him pitching 27 more times," Gonzalez said. "If it was the ninth inning, maybe, think about it."
"It gets to the point you chase that no-hitter, chase that dragon, you're up to 140 pitches," he said. "I think we made the right decision."
Jordan Walden completed the combined one-hitter.
The Mets hit few balls hard against the resurgent Harang, who lowered his ERA to an NL-best 0.70. The closest they came to a hit off him was actually on a check-swing tapper by Travis d'Arnaud in the second inning.
Second baseman Dan Uggla charged, snapped a throw and d'Arnaud was called out. Television replays appeared to show d'Arnaud might've been safe with an infield hit, and manager Terry Collins discussed the call with first base umpire Eric Cooper. But Collins didn't challenge it because Lucas Duda, who had been on first, tried to advance to third and was easily beaten by first baseman Freddie Freeman's return throw.
"I thought I was safe, but it's the perfect reason to not challenge something because there was an out at third," d'Arnaud said. "I know that if you get it right, they give it back to you, but Terry went out, talked to the umpire and then explained the whole situation to me."
Wright spoiled the combo no-hit bid with a clean single to left field.
The 6-foot-7 Harang took a no-hit try into the seventh inning for the second time this year. He did it in his season debut, giving up a leadoff single in the seventh at Milwaukee. He has never pitched a no-hitter in 13 major league seasons.
Harang struck out five. He fanned pinch hitter Andrew Brown with runners at first and second with his final pitch, protecting a 1-0 lead.
Harang finished up last season with the Mets, then was let go by Cleveland in spring training.
He kept up the Braves' recent run of stellar pitching. Julio Teheran beat Philadelphia 1-0 on Wednesday and Alex Wood lost to the Phillies 1-0 Thursday.
The Mets had their three-game winning streak snapped. Before the game, they traded slumping first baseman Ike Davis to Pittsburgh and activated outfielder Chris Young from the disabled list.
Freeman hit his fifth homer, a two-run shot in the eighth.
The Braves got a run on a strange sequence that began with a double by Uggla -- Justin Upton was thrown out at home on the play, but Uggla headed to third and scored when d'Arnaud threw wildly into left field. Jordan Schafer added an RBI double beyond the reach of right fielder Curtis Granderson.
Chris Johnson hit an RBI double off Jonathon Niese (0-2) in the second for a 1-0 lead.
Game notes
RHP Ervin Santana (1-0, 0.64 ERA) starts for Atlanta on Saturday vs. RHP Bartolo Colon (1-2, 6.00). Colon has been having back trouble, and Collins said Daisuke Matsuzaka needed to be ready in case the problem flares up. ... Kent Mercker pitched the Braves' last no-hitter in 1994.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Chen's a left-handed starter; Rivera was a righty reliever and closer. Chen's a crafty off-speed pitcher who gets hitters out with his guile. Rivera threw a nasty cut fastball that was so unhittable, he'll be in the Hall of Fame in five years.
But Chen, a native of Panama, shares a place alongside Rivera in the record books that he takes particularly pride in.
Chen, who starts on Friday night when the Royals open a three-game series at Minnesota, leads all Panamanian-born pitchers in major-league starts with 219 and in innings with 1,483 2/3. And with 80 career victories and 1,107 strikeouts, Chen needs three wins and 67 strikeouts to overtake Rivera for the top spot in both categories.
"Mariano Rivera, here in the United States is known as the best closer of all time," said Chen, "but in Panama, he's known as the best pitcher ever. People look up to Mariano . . . my family, everyone.
"When I was younger and Mariano was in the big leagues, I used to train with him, and all the professional baseball players trained together. So for me to be able to surpass a guy so big . . . even though he was a closer, I feel like this is a big accomplishment."
In fact, only Rivera, with 1,115 appearances, and former Royal reliever Juan Berenguer with 490, have pitched in more big-league games among natives of Panama than Chen's 386. Rivera, of course, also posted a major-league record 652 saves -- or 651 more than Chen.
Chen, 36, hopes younger Panamanian pitchers follow his lead.
"Records are made to be broken," Chen said, "and obviously the save record is going to be hard to break. But you want other Panamanians to push that. You want to have a Panamanian who strikes out 3,000 batters . . . or maybe somebody who gets 250 wins.
"But as long as we keep building it up, there's going to be someone, maybe this kid Randall Delgado with the Diamondbacks . . . or maybe there's a kid in Panama watching me or Delgado pitch and says, 'I want to play,' and maybe that's the new kid who is going to break all the records."
Though he came away with no decision, Chen is coming off a strong first start of the season in the Royals' 4-3 win over the White Sox last Saturday. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and left with a 3-1 lead after allowing six hits, and an unearned run while striking out seven with no walks.
"I was throwing all my pitches for strikes, and Salvador Perez did a really good job of calling the game, making sure we changed speeds," Chen said. "And my defense, also. I really pounded that strike zone because I trusted my defense . . . the guys behind me were making really good plays."
A year ago this time, Chen, the Royals' pitcher of the year in 2010, was the odd man out of the rotation after the club acquired James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana. Chen, who initially lost a battle with Luis Mendoza for the fifth spot in the rotation, began the season in the bullpen and often went more than a week between appearances.
Chen would come to the ballpark never knowing whether he'd work that day. Now he knows he'll be handed the ball every fifth day.
"I always wanted to help this team win," he said of 2013. "Last year was kind of different. There were times I went 12 days without pitching, then I would pitch and go another seven days without pitching . . . it was tough. But the way I saw it, I'm trying to help the bullpen. If they gave me their innings, I'm taking innings away from other guys who needed to stay sharp."
Chen went 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA over 33 2/3 innings in the first half of the season before moving to the rotation in July. In his first six starts, he led the majors with a 0.93 ERA and .144 opponents' batting average from July 12 to Aug. 13.
"We felt we'd put Bruce in the pen, and if we needed him at the halfway point, he'd be strong and ready to finish the season strong, and that's exactly what happened," manager Ned Yost said.
It wasn't as easy as it looked.
"The fact I didn't throw that many innings, people said, 'Yeah, you're fresh,' but actually it takes a toll on your arm," said Chen, who finished the season 9-4 and a 3.27 ERA. "I didn't go into the rotation for three months . . . when you're used to throwing one inning, maybe two innings, and you go over to start and throw five, six innings, and then five days later you have to throw five, six, seven innings, and 100 pitches, those first three starts, my arm was in shock.
"My arm had to get stronger as the season went along. I didn't feel better until the last month of the season when my arm got adjusted."
Chen was a free agent at the end of 2013, and when was assured of a shot at remaining in the rotation, he signed a $4.25 million contract for a sixth season with the Royals.
"We didn't sign him to be a pen guy," Yost said.
Chen had other offers, but he likes Kansas City. His wife, Mary is from the area, and he believes in the direction the club is heading.
"Now that I know I'm going to be starting," Chen said, "I can help this team win from the starting rotation."
(c)2014 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)
Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Read more at http://www.arcamax.com/sports/baseball/s-1504654?source=outbrain#k0AXSGcWkmper9BU.99
Chen's a left-handed starter; Rivera was a righty reliever and closer. Chen's a crafty off-speed pitcher who gets hitters out with his guile. Rivera threw a nasty cut fastball that was so unhittable, he'll be in the Hall of Fame in five years.
But Chen, a native of Panama, shares a place alongside Rivera in the record books that he takes particularly pride in.
Chen, who starts on Friday night when the Royals open a three-game series at Minnesota, leads all Panamanian-born pitchers in major-league starts with 219 and in innings with 1,483 2/3. And with 80 career victories and 1,107 strikeouts, Chen needs three wins and 67 strikeouts to overtake Rivera for the top spot in both categories.
"Mariano Rivera, here in the United States is known as the best closer of all time," said Chen, "but in Panama, he's known as the best pitcher ever. People look up to Mariano . . . my family, everyone.
"When I was younger and Mariano was in the big leagues, I used to train with him, and all the professional baseball players trained together. So for me to be able to surpass a guy so big . . . even though he was a closer, I feel like this is a big accomplishment."
In fact, only Rivera, with 1,115 appearances, and former Royal reliever Juan Berenguer with 490, have pitched in more big-league games among natives of Panama than Chen's 386. Rivera, of course, also posted a major-league record 652 saves -- or 651 more than Chen.
Chen, 36, hopes younger Panamanian pitchers follow his lead.
"Records are made to be broken," Chen said, "and obviously the save record is going to be hard to break. But you want other Panamanians to push that. You want to have a Panamanian who strikes out 3,000 batters . . . or maybe somebody who gets 250 wins.
"But as long as we keep building it up, there's going to be someone, maybe this kid Randall Delgado with the Diamondbacks . . . or maybe there's a kid in Panama watching me or Delgado pitch and says, 'I want to play,' and maybe that's the new kid who is going to break all the records."
Though he came away with no decision, Chen is coming off a strong first start of the season in the Royals' 4-3 win over the White Sox last Saturday. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and left with a 3-1 lead after allowing six hits, and an unearned run while striking out seven with no walks.
"I was throwing all my pitches for strikes, and Salvador Perez did a really good job of calling the game, making sure we changed speeds," Chen said. "And my defense, also. I really pounded that strike zone because I trusted my defense . . . the guys behind me were making really good plays."
A year ago this time, Chen, the Royals' pitcher of the year in 2010, was the odd man out of the rotation after the club acquired James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana. Chen, who initially lost a battle with Luis Mendoza for the fifth spot in the rotation, began the season in the bullpen and often went more than a week between appearances.
Chen would come to the ballpark never knowing whether he'd work that day. Now he knows he'll be handed the ball every fifth day.
"I always wanted to help this team win," he said of 2013. "Last year was kind of different. There were times I went 12 days without pitching, then I would pitch and go another seven days without pitching . . . it was tough. But the way I saw it, I'm trying to help the bullpen. If they gave me their innings, I'm taking innings away from other guys who needed to stay sharp."
Chen went 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA over 33 2/3 innings in the first half of the season before moving to the rotation in July. In his first six starts, he led the majors with a 0.93 ERA and .144 opponents' batting average from July 12 to Aug. 13.
"We felt we'd put Bruce in the pen, and if we needed him at the halfway point, he'd be strong and ready to finish the season strong, and that's exactly what happened," manager Ned Yost said.
It wasn't as easy as it looked.
"The fact I didn't throw that many innings, people said, 'Yeah, you're fresh,' but actually it takes a toll on your arm," said Chen, who finished the season 9-4 and a 3.27 ERA. "I didn't go into the rotation for three months . . . when you're used to throwing one inning, maybe two innings, and you go over to start and throw five, six innings, and then five days later you have to throw five, six, seven innings, and 100 pitches, those first three starts, my arm was in shock.
"My arm had to get stronger as the season went along. I didn't feel better until the last month of the season when my arm got adjusted."
Chen was a free agent at the end of 2013, and when was assured of a shot at remaining in the rotation, he signed a $4.25 million contract for a sixth season with the Royals.
"We didn't sign him to be a pen guy," Yost said.
Chen had other offers, but he likes Kansas City. His wife, Mary is from the area, and he believes in the direction the club is heading.
"Now that I know I'm going to be starting," Chen said, "I can help this team win from the starting rotation."
(c)2014 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)
Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Read more at http://www.arcamax.com/sports/baseball/s-1504654?source=outbrain#k0AXSGcWkmper9BU.99
Chen's a left-handed starter; Rivera was a righty reliever and closer. Chen's a crafty off-speed pitcher who gets hitters out with his guile. Rivera threw a nasty cut fastball that was so unhittable, he'll be in the Hall of Fame in five years.
But Chen, a native of Panama, shares a place alongside Rivera in the record books that he takes particularly pride in.
Chen, who starts on Friday night when the Royals open a three-game series at Minnesota, leads all Panamanian-born pitchers in major-league starts with 219 and in innings with 1,483 2/3. And with 80 career victories and 1,107 strikeouts, Chen needs three wins and 67 strikeouts to overtake Rivera for the top spot in both categories.
"Mariano Rivera, here in the United States is known as the best closer of all time," said Chen, "but in Panama, he's known as the best pitcher ever. People look up to Mariano . . . my family, everyone.
"When I was younger and Mariano was in the big leagues, I used to train with him, and all the professional baseball players trained together. So for me to be able to surpass a guy so big . . . even though he was a closer, I feel like this is a big accomplishment."
In fact, only Rivera, with 1,115 appearances, and former Royal reliever Juan Berenguer with 490, have pitched in more big-league games among natives of Panama than Chen's 386. Rivera, of course, also posted a major-league record 652 saves -- or 651 more than Chen.
Chen, 36, hopes younger Panamanian pitchers follow his lead.
"Records are made to be broken," Chen said, "and obviously the save record is going to be hard to break. But you want other Panamanians to push that. You want to have a Panamanian who strikes out 3,000 batters . . . or maybe somebody who gets 250 wins.
"But as long as we keep building it up, there's going to be someone, maybe this kid Randall Delgado with the Diamondbacks . . . or maybe there's a kid in Panama watching me or Delgado pitch and says, 'I want to play,' and maybe that's the new kid who is going to break all the records."
Though he came away with no decision, Chen is coming off a strong first start of the season in the Royals' 4-3 win over the White Sox last Saturday. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and left with a 3-1 lead after allowing six hits, and an unearned run while striking out seven with no walks.
"I was throwing all my pitches for strikes, and Salvador Perez did a really good job of calling the game, making sure we changed speeds," Chen said. "And my defense, also. I really pounded that strike zone because I trusted my defense . . . the guys behind me were making really good plays."
A year ago this time, Chen, the Royals' pitcher of the year in 2010, was the odd man out of the rotation after the club acquired James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana. Chen, who initially lost a battle with Luis Mendoza for the fifth spot in the rotation, began the season in the bullpen and often went more than a week between appearances.
Chen would come to the ballpark never knowing whether he'd work that day. Now he knows he'll be handed the ball every fifth day.
"I always wanted to help this team win," he said of 2013. "Last year was kind of different. There were times I went 12 days without pitching, then I would pitch and go another seven days without pitching . . . it was tough. But the way I saw it, I'm trying to help the bullpen. If they gave me their innings, I'm taking innings away from other guys who needed to stay sharp."
Chen went 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA over 33 2/3 innings in the first half of the season before moving to the rotation in July. In his first six starts, he led the majors with a 0.93 ERA and .144 opponents' batting average from July 12 to Aug. 13.
"We felt we'd put Bruce in the pen, and if we needed him at the halfway point, he'd be strong and ready to finish the season strong, and that's exactly what happened," manager Ned Yost said.
It wasn't as easy as it looked.
"The fact I didn't throw that many innings, people said, 'Yeah, you're fresh,' but actually it takes a toll on your arm," said Chen, who finished the season 9-4 and a 3.27 ERA. "I didn't go into the rotation for three months . . . when you're used to throwing one inning, maybe two innings, and you go over to start and throw five, six innings, and then five days later you have to throw five, six, seven innings, and 100 pitches, those first three starts, my arm was in shock.
"My arm had to get stronger as the season went along. I didn't feel better until the last month of the season when my arm got adjusted."
Chen was a free agent at the end of 2013, and when was assured of a shot at remaining in the rotation, he signed a $4.25 million contract for a sixth season with the Royals.
"We didn't sign him to be a pen guy," Yost said.
Chen had other offers, but he likes Kansas City. His wife, Mary is from the area, and he believes in the direction the club is heading.
"Now that I know I'm going to be starting," Chen said, "I can help this team win from the starting rotation."
(c)2014 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)
Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Read more at http://www.arcamax.com/sports/baseball/s-1504654?source=outbrain#k0AXSGcWkmper9BU.99
Chen's a left-handed starter; Rivera was a righty reliever and closer. Chen's a crafty off-speed pitcher who gets hitters out with his guile. Rivera threw a nasty cut fastball that was so unhittable, he'll be in the Hall of Fame in five years.
But Chen, a native of Panama, shares a place alongside Rivera in the record books that he takes particularly pride in.
Chen, who starts on Friday night when the Royals open a three-game series at Minnesota, leads all Panamanian-born pitchers in major-league starts with 219 and in innings with 1,483 2/3. And with 80 career victories and 1,107 strikeouts, Chen needs three wins and 67 strikeouts to overtake Rivera for the top spot in both categories.
"Mariano Rivera, here in the United States is known as the best closer of all time," said Chen, "but in Panama, he's known as the best pitcher ever. People look up to Mariano . . . my family, everyone.
"When I was younger and Mariano was in the big leagues, I used to train with him, and all the professional baseball players trained together. So for me to be able to surpass a guy so big . . . even though he was a closer, I feel like this is a big accomplishment."
In fact, only Rivera, with 1,115 appearances, and former Royal reliever Juan Berenguer with 490, have pitched in more big-league games among natives of Panama than Chen's 386. Rivera, of course, also posted a major-league record 652 saves -- or 651 more than Chen.
Chen, 36, hopes younger Panamanian pitchers follow his lead.
"Records are made to be broken," Chen said, "and obviously the save record is going to be hard to break. But you want other Panamanians to push that. You want to have a Panamanian who strikes out 3,000 batters . . . or maybe somebody who gets 250 wins.
"But as long as we keep building it up, there's going to be someone, maybe this kid Randall Delgado with the Diamondbacks . . . or maybe there's a kid in Panama watching me or Delgado pitch and says, 'I want to play,' and maybe that's the new kid who is going to break all the records."
Though he came away with no decision, Chen is coming off a strong first start of the season in the Royals' 4-3 win over the White Sox last Saturday. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and left with a 3-1 lead after allowing six hits, and an unearned run while striking out seven with no walks.
"I was throwing all my pitches for strikes, and Salvador Perez did a really good job of calling the game, making sure we changed speeds," Chen said. "And my defense, also. I really pounded that strike zone because I trusted my defense . . . the guys behind me were making really good plays."
A year ago this time, Chen, the Royals' pitcher of the year in 2010, was the odd man out of the rotation after the club acquired James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana. Chen, who initially lost a battle with Luis Mendoza for the fifth spot in the rotation, began the season in the bullpen and often went more than a week between appearances.
Chen would come to the ballpark never knowing whether he'd work that day. Now he knows he'll be handed the ball every fifth day.
"I always wanted to help this team win," he said of 2013. "Last year was kind of different. There were times I went 12 days without pitching, then I would pitch and go another seven days without pitching . . . it was tough. But the way I saw it, I'm trying to help the bullpen. If they gave me their innings, I'm taking innings away from other guys who needed to stay sharp."
Chen went 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA over 33 2/3 innings in the first half of the season before moving to the rotation in July. In his first six starts, he led the majors with a 0.93 ERA and .144 opponents' batting average from July 12 to Aug. 13.
"We felt we'd put Bruce in the pen, and if we needed him at the halfway point, he'd be strong and ready to finish the season strong, and that's exactly what happened," manager Ned Yost said.
It wasn't as easy as it looked.
"The fact I didn't throw that many innings, people said, 'Yeah, you're fresh,' but actually it takes a toll on your arm," said Chen, who finished the season 9-4 and a 3.27 ERA. "I didn't go into the rotation for three months . . . when you're used to throwing one inning, maybe two innings, and you go over to start and throw five, six innings, and then five days later you have to throw five, six, seven innings, and 100 pitches, those first three starts, my arm was in shock.
"My arm had to get stronger as the season went along. I didn't feel better until the last month of the season when my arm got adjusted."
Chen was a free agent at the end of 2013, and when was assured of a shot at remaining in the rotation, he signed a $4.25 million contract for a sixth season with the Royals.
"We didn't sign him to be a pen guy," Yost said.
Chen had other offers, but he likes Kansas City. His wife, Mary is from the area, and he believes in the direction the club is heading.
"Now that I know I'm going to be starting," Chen said, "I can help this team win from the starting rotation."
(c)2014 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)
Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Read more at http://www.arcamax.com/sports/baseball/s-1504654?source=outbrain#k0AXSGcWkmper9BU.99
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