April 15, 2005:  Aaron Heilman pitches Mets’ 28th one-hitter, beating the Marlins 4-0

The New York Mets started 2005 by losing five consecutive road games. Their first win came when future Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez, who had signed as a free agent in December 2004,1 pitched a two-hit complete game for a 6-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on April 10, the final game of their road trip. New York then swept the Houston Astros in their first home series and was 4-5 when the Florida Marlins arrived at Shea Stadium on April 15.

The Marlins were 5-4 after beating the Philadelphia Phillies twice to close out their first homestand. Florida had missed the postseason in 2004 after winning the franchise’s second World Series in 2003. The Marlins signed first baseman Carlos Delgado, adding the three-time Toronto Blue Jays Silver Slugger’s bat to a lineup that included Miguel Cabrera and Mike Lowell.

Aaron Heilman started the Friday night game for the Mets. The 26-year-old right-hander had been added to manager Willie Randolph’s rotation when Kris Benson was injured in spring training.2 A product of the University of Notre Dame, Heilman had pitched in 19 games for New York in 2003 and 2004, resulting in a 6.36 ERA. Heilman struggled in his first 2005 start on April 9, giving up five runs through five innings in a 6-3 loss in Atlanta. When the team was introduced before their home opener on April 11, fans booed when his name was called, and it was rumored he might be sent back to the minors.3

Heilman needed just eight pitches in the first, getting three consecutive groundouts from the top of the Marlins’ batting order. He struck out Delgado to lead off the second, then induced two more groundouts. Two more strikeouts and Damion Easley’s flyout, the first time the Marlins hit the ball out of the infield, gave Heilman three perfect innings.

By then, the Mets already had the lead against 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett. Despite being injured several times in 2004, Beckett pitched 156⅔ innings and led Florida with 152 strikeouts. The 25-year-old right-hander had begun the 2005 season with 15 scoreless innings in wins over the Braves and Washington Nationals, but the Mets snapped that streak in the first.

José Reyes led off with a double. Offseason free agent signing Miguel Cairo sacrificed, and both runners were safe when Beckett couldn’t handle the ball; Reyes reached third on the error. Cairo quickly stole second. Mike Piazza grounded out to second, scoring Reyes and moving Cairo to third. Doug Mientkiewicz – like Pedro Martínez, another new Met who had spent 2004 with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox – singled Cairo home, putting New York ahead, 2-0.

The Marlins’ first baserunner came when Heilman hit leadoff hitter Juan Pierre to start the fourth. Pierre had won two National League stolen base crowns in his first four full major-league seasons, and he drew five pickoff throws from Heilman. Eventually, Pierre took off for second and was safe when Piazza had to block a pitch in the dirt.

Luis Castillo hit a groundball up the middle. Heilman tried to catch the ball, but it barely missed his glove. Second baseman Cairo was unable to make a bare-handed grab, and Castillo was safe at first. The Marlins had a hit.

Heilman then retired the heart of the Florida order – Cabrera, Delgado, and Lowell – to keep the Marlins off the scoreboard. Cairo later complimented Heilman’s poise in escaping the fourth-inning jam, saying, “When he got those 3-4-5 guys, I was like ‘Man, he’s dealing today. He pitched unbelievable.”4

The Mets had a chance to add to their lead in the home half of the fourth when Piazza, who had just two extra base hits coming into the game, doubled to center field with two outs. Beckett walked Mientkiewicz intentionally. Chris Woodward flied out to left to end the threat.

After Heilman pitched another scoreless frame in the fifth, the Mets scored on Beckett again in their half of the inning. It happened after Beckett struck out Reyes for his sixth punchout. Cairo walked, and another free-agent signee, center fielder Carlos Beltrán, hit a groundball down the first-base line. Delgado bobbled the ball, then tried to flip it backward to Beckett. The ball sailed over Beckett’s head, and Beltrán was safe at first with Cairo going to third.

Piazza then hit a Beckett fastball down the left-field line for his second double of the game. Cairo and Beltrán scored to put the Mets in front, 4-0.

Piazza, who began the game batting .148, had a three-RBI night. He told reporters after the game that he felt like he was breaking out of his slump.5 “I feel like there was a lot of tension in the first few games. That’s why the game is so hard. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge,” said Piazza.6 

Heilman had all the run support he needed. Castillo drew a one-out walk in the sixth, but Reyes turned Cabrera’s grounder into a 6-4-3 double play. The Marlins went down on 10 pitches in the seventh. Heilman struck out the side in the eighth and pumped his fist as he walked back to the dugout.

In the meantime, a series of veteran Marlins relievers kept the Mets from scoring again after Beckett’s five-inning outing. Todd Jones pitched the sixth, Brian Moehler the seventh, and Guillermo Mota the eighth.

The final out of the Mets’ half of the eighth was Heilman’s groundout. When he came back out to pitch the ninth, the crowd rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. “It’s a lot nicer to hear what I heard today,” he said after the game, referring to getting booed three days earlier.7

Future Hall of Famer Beltrán gloved a Pierre fly to center for the first out in the ninth. Castillo walked, giving the Marlins just their fourth baserunner of the game, but Cabrera grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to cap Heilman’s first win of the season. It was the 28th one-hitter in Mets history and the 23rd complete-game one-hitter in the team’s 34-year history.

It was also the fifth straight year that a Mets pitcher had thrown a one-hitter, as a no-hitter continued to remain elusive for the franchise.8 For the Marlins, it was the first time that a pitcher had thrown a complete game one-hitter against the franchise.

This time, the difference was Castillo’s infield hit. Cairo second-guessed his decision to barehand the ball, noting that it was hit harder than he expected.

When he was told after the game it was Florida’s only hit, Cairo said, “Holy moley, it was a little chopper.”9

“Maybe if I was a little faster,” lamented Heilman about missing Castillo’s ground ball.10

Heilman’s seven strikeouts tied a career high, and it was the first time he had lasted longer than seven innings in the big leagues. His early-season ERA dropped from 9.00 to 3.21.

“You certainly never want to get booed but today felt a lot better. I feel like I’m able to hide the ball a little better, get more deception, get a little more movement,” Heilman said.11

“Hopefully, he’s the type of guy who doesn’t look at the numbers. He’s had his opportunities and his stuff’s always been there. Hopefully, he’s starting to mature,” Randolph added.12

Heilman’s mastery of the Marlins turned out to be the only complete game of his career. Five days later, in a rematch in Miami, he allowed Florida seven runs on 11 hits in four innings. “He got away from the game plan and started overthrowing,” said Randolph after that game. “He didn’t mix in his changeup enough to keep them off balance. Sometimes, you make adjustments when you don’t need to make adjustments.”13

Heilman made four more starts through May 15, when the Mets moved him to the bullpen. He was 3-3 with a 4.37 ERA when the move was made. Heilman was used as a reliever for the rest of the season. He pitched 62 innings in 45 games, striking out 69. His ERA was 2.30 after the move to the bullpen. The Mets finished 83-79, tying the Marlins for third place in the NL East Division. Neither team made the postseason.

Heilman remained a reliever for the rest of his nine-year career, playing with the Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Arizona Diamondbacks until his retirement in 2012 after getting his second Tommy John surgery.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Thomas Merrick and copy-edited by Mike Eisenbath.

Photo credit: Aaron Heilman, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for the box score and other material.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200504150.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B04150NYN2005.htm

Notes

1 Three-time Cy Young Award winner Martínez had signed with the Mets after his contract with the Boston Red Sox expired. His last appearance with the Red Sox was as the winning pitcher in Game Three of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston went on to win its first World Series championship in 86 years. Martínez had received a no-decision in his Mets debut, an Opening Day 2005 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

2 Benson strained his right pectoral muscle during spring training and would not return until May.

3 Adam Rubin, “One Big Win for Adam,” New York Daily News, April 16, 2005: 53.

4 Arthur Staple, “Hail, Hail Heilman,” Newsday, April 16, 2005: A28.

5 Piazza improved during the final two weeks of April. He raised his batting average to .244 and hit four doubles but only one more home run.

6 Christian Red, “Piazza Breaks Tension and His Slump,” New York Daily News, April 16, 2005: 54.

7 Staple, “Hail, Hail Heilman.”

8 Bobby Jones beat the Giants on October 8, 2000, Glendon Rusch and Armando Benitez beat the Red Sox on July 22, 2001, Shawn Estes beat the Milwaukee Brewers on April 26, 2002, Steve Trachsel beat the Angels on June 15, 2003, Jae Weong Seo, David Weathers and Benitez beat the Florida Marlins on June 17, 2003, Trachsel beat the Colorado Rockies on August 18, 2003, Tom Glavine beat the Rockies on May 23, 2004. Johan Santana finally threw the Mets first no-hitter on June 1, 2012.

9 Rubin, “One Big Win for Adam.”

10 Staple, “Hail, Hail Heilman.”

11 Rubin, “One Big Win for Adam.”

12 Staple, “Hail, Hail Heilman.”

13 Lee Jenkins, “Heilman Reverts to Form as Marlins Pummel Mets,” New York Times, April 21, 2005: D1.