Hall of Famer Tom Seaver took a no-hitter into the ninth inning three times as a Met; all three of them were broken up, and the Mets have never had one in their history, though they have thrown 35 one-hitters and six no-nos pitched against them.

Johan Santana went out in the ninth inning Friday night at Citi Field with a no-hitter intact, an 8-0 lead, and 122 pitches thrown, three short of his career high, with a chance to make Mets history. The Cardinals had not been no-hit in 22 years, since Fernando Valenzuela threw one against them in 1990.

Leading off the ninth inning, the Cardinals’ Matt Holliday hit a line drive directly to center fielder Andres Torres on Santana’s first pitch, his 123rd of the night.

The next hitter, Allen Craig, who was just activated from the disabled list for this game, ran the count to 2-2 before hitting a sinking fly ball that Kirk Niewenhuis caught on the run in left field. During the at-bat, Santana set a career high with his 126th pitch.

David Freese was the Cardinals’ last chance. He ran the count to 3-0 and then struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch, followed by this celebration:

A fan tried to join the celebration. Denied!

Another angle on the fan:

Up close and personal:

Congratulations to Johan Santana, who in the Mets’ 8,020th game as a major league franchise, has thrown the first no-hitter in team history.