For 8,019 games, across 51 seasons, it had never happened for the Mets. Not at the Polo Grounds, not at Shea Stadium, not at Citi Field, not on the road. Not for Ryan or Seaver, not for Koosman or Matlack, not for Gooden or Cone, not for Leiter or Glavine. No Mets pitcher had ever thrown a no-hitter. Not until Friday.

Johan Santana finally did it, twirling an 8-0 gem against the St. Louis Cardinals, the defending World Series champions. He struck out eight, walked five and threw 134 pitches, 19 more than Manager Terry Collins had said would be his limit.

Santana, in his 12th season, is coming off serious shoulder surgery, but this was history, for him and the franchise. For all of his accomplishments, including two Cy Young Awards with the Minnesota Twins, Santana had never thrown a no-hitter — not even in a video game, he said later. After the seventh, he told Collins he wanted a chance.

“He came over to me when I was sitting in the dugout and he told me that I was his hero, and that was the end of it,” Santana said. “And I told him I was not coming out of the game.”