Box score of the new millennium

Yankees cast-off/ back-end rotation filler Adrian Hernandez carried a no-hitter through 4 1/3 innings in yesterday's Brewers-Mets game. Matt Kinney and Luis Vizcaino followed up by scattering 2 hits over a combined 3 2/3 innings, before closer Danny Kolb slammed the door shut with a flawless, seven-pitch 9th. End result: the Brewers' four pitchers combine forces on a 2-hitter (topping the Mets 6-4) in one of the strangest games I've seen since Andy Hawkins tossed a no-hitter in a 4-0 loss.

Hernandez's line for the night ensured an extended holiday in middle relief:

4 1/3 IP 0h 3r 2er 7bb 4k 0 hr 80-34 pc-st

Kinney (who got the win) and Vizcaino were a bit more effective in preserving the lead, because the opposing starter -- rookie Tyler Yates -- also got lit up in five innings of work. It's worth noting, however, that each of the five pitchers the Mets trotted out (even Yates) threw a greater percentage of strikes. And when the dust settled, the Hernandez-Kinney-Vizcaino trinity had more walks (9) than Ks (8). The non-earned run in Hernandez's line came when third-baseman Wes Helms bobbled a grounder in the 4th inning, but still -- the Gods of Baseball must've been attending to other business to let the Brewers get away with a win that ugly.