Mets' Johan Santana Pitches No-Hitter, 3B Umpire Adrian Johnson Earns Save

Mets pitcher Johan Santana and 3B Umpire Adrian Johnson combined for a little Friday night magic in New York as Santana completed the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history.

Here's how. Santana, who had kept the St. Louis Cardinals hitless through five innings, faced Cardinals slugger Carlos Beltran in the top of the sixth inning. With a 1-0 count, Beltran connected on an 88 miles-per-hour fastball from Santana, sending a line drive screaming past third base and down the left field line.

Ruled a foul ball by Johnson, the broadcasters and replays indicate the ball traversed the front edge of the third base bag in fair territory before striking the ground past third base, also in fair territory and on the chalk line; had an ejection resulted from the animated argument between Johnson, 3B Coach Jose Oquendo and Manager Mike Matheny, the Quality of Correctness would have been incorrect (because of where the line drive first touched the ground, not because of where it passed over third base as the Cardinals broadcasters incorrectly cited, though the answer to both questions is one and the same).

Nonetheless, as the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League traditionally does after a no-hitter, here is the instant analysis of how plate umpire Gary Cederstrom called Johan Santana's no-hitter.

Callable Pitches: 77 (57-20)
Called Balls: 54 of 57 Correct = 94.7% Accuracy
Called Strikes: 16 of 20 Correct = <90.0% Accuracy
Total Accuracy: 70 of 77 Correct = 90.9% Accuracy

As the above statistics indicate, Santana was the beneficiary of four incorrect strike calls (called strikes located outside of the strike zone) while he was the victim of three incorrectly ruled balls (called balls located within the strike zone), a net result of one incorrect strike call or one beneficial call.

This of course does not include 3B Umpire Adrian Johnson's huge foul ball call on Beltran, which is why at least one Cardinals writer who was in the Citi Field pressbox reported the question, "Will 3B Umpire Adrian Johnson get the save?"

After the contest, Santana addressed the incorrect foul ball call during his press conference: "There are times where one play, one call makes the whole difference ... tonight that was that call. I can't say anything about, I just went with it, the umpire made his call and that was the end of it. I just stayed with my game."

Wrap: Cardinals at Mets 6/1/12
Video: Umpire Johnson Erroneously Rules Beltran's Liner Foul; Preserves Santana's No-Hitter
Video: Santana's post-game press conference, addresses foul ball call

Does Adrian Johnson's Missed Call Cheapen Johan Santana's No-Hitter?