Aaron Harang, Atlanta Braves relievers flirt with no-hitter, blank Mets 6-0

Atlanta Braves starter Aaron Harang pitched seven scoreless no-hit innings against the New York Mets, but the Braves bullpen couldn’t keep the no-no intact.

Despite not filing a combined no-hitter, the Braves pitching staff did manage to keep New York off the scoreboard, taking down the NL East rivals 6-0 at Citi Field.

Harang, who allowed six walks in his seven innings, began to labor heavily in the seventh, giving up two two-out walks before striking out Andrew Brown to end the inning. That brought Harang’s pitch count up to 121 (70 for strikes) and ended his night.

Freddie Freeman homered for the Braves in the 8th inning, giving the Atlanta pitching staff a little room after the score had remained 1-0 since the 2nd inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Luis Avilan entered in relief of Harang, and logged two quick outs before David Wright singled into left field, breaking up the potential combined no-hitter.

Jordan Walden finished off the game for Atlanta, giving them a one-hit shutout on the night.

In Harang’s three starts with the Braves, he has put up incredible numbers, going 2-1 with a microscopic league-leading 0.70 ERA to go along with 22 strikeouts and a 0.82 WHIP.  Not bad for a journeyman who didn’t even know if he would be on a major league roster this season.