SAN FRANCISCO — Chris Heston turned and watched the ball Ruben Tejada had just stroked into the outfield, and then Heston turned and watched Tejada round first base, as if he needed further confirmation about what he had just seen.
The last time Heston had faced the Mets, last month, he no-hit them, and the Mets’ offense had not exactly been potent since then. This time, Tejada, the second batter of the game, stroked a single to left field. There would be no no-hitter. Instead, Heston and Jon Niese, the Mets’ starter, engaged in a duel that neither offense seemed capable of ending.