Raisel Iglesias didn’t record the first two outs in the ninth inning on May 11 in easy fashion. But after he got Pete Alonso to ground out to short on the eighth pitch of the at-bat and the 14th pitch of the inning, a feeling of inevitability enveloped Citi Field.

The Braves fans who’d already begun drowning out the Mets fans in the crowd of 38,919 began doing the Tomahawk Chop. And Braves fans, Mets fans and impartial observers alike took out their phones as J.D. Martinez stepped to the plate.

It was finally going to happen. The Braves, the epitome of sustained pitching excellence, were going to throw a no-hitter. Who didn’t want to have video proof of the final out and the end of the drought?

Except, of course, this no-hit bid ended like every other no-hit bid by the Braves over the last 30-plus years when Martinez hit a first-pitch fastball about 10 feet beyond the right field fence to end a combined pursuit of history by Max Fried (first seven innings), Joe Jimenez (eighth inning) and Iglesias.

These are the Mets, so you expected Ronald Acuna Jr. to scale the wall and do a somersault while making the gem-saving catch, but no. The Braves’ no-hitter drought is such a strong entity that even the perpetually woeful Mets can’t snap it.

Nor could the less-woeful Cubs and Padres over the last 10 games, which increased the Braves’ no-hitter drought to a whopping 4,877 games — counting the playoffs — since Kent Mercker held the Dodgers hitless on April 8 1994.

The only teams for whom features about their no-hitter droughts would be more evergreen are Cleveland (no no-hitters since Len Barker’s perfect game against the Blue Jays on May 15, 1981), the Blue Jays (no no-hitters since Dave Stieb, a chapter by himself in any book about near no-hitters, finally threw his lone no-hitter against Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990) and the Royals (no no-hitters since Bret Saberhagen’s gem against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 26, 1991)

“It’s rare — how many have there been out of ever single game that’s been played?” Braves catcher (and former Mets catcher, because of course) Travis d’Arnaud said following the Braves’ 4-1 win. “How many have there been total?”

Entering play Thursday, there were 383 no-hitters thrown in 239,022 games since 1876. That means the odds of a no-hitter being thrown are 0.002 percent per game (or 0.0016 percent, if you want to be more exact).

The odds of seeing a no-hitter since 1995 — the first full season of the Braves’ drought — are even lower at 0.001 percent per game (or 0.0006 percent, if you want to be more exact).

So on one hand, it’s understandable the Braves haven’t thrown a no-hitter. It’s hard to do, even for a team that’s pitched better than almost anyone else over the last three decades. Since 1994, the Braves rank second in baseball with 2,656 wins, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

But the Yankees, who are first in wins since 1994, and the Dodgers, who are first in ERA and WHIP, have combined for nine no-hitters (and two perfect games, both by the Yankees) since Mercker’s gem.

Seventeen other teams have thrown multiple no-hitters since 1994, including the Marlins, who have the fourth-worst record in baseball in that span but also have six no-hitters. That’s tied for the most with the Phillies behind the Astros (eight). Even the Mets, who used to be the poster franchise for no no-hitters, have thrown two no-hitters.

And none of those teams with multiple no-hitters had a trio of Hall of Famers accounting for almost 20 percent of their starts since 1994. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz combined to start 922 games for Atlanta, albeit none since 2008. They finished with no no-hitters in a combined 1,903 starts, but the likes of Chris Heston, Bud Smith, Philip Humber and Jose Jimenez combined for four no-hitters — Humber’s was a perfect game— over 146 career starts.

At least Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz are in good company. Tim Hudson, who played nine seasons of his borderline Hall of Fame career in Atlanta, never threw a no-hitter for the Braves. Nor have current ace-caliber Braves Chris Sale or Spencer Strider.

Fried is the third All-Star to start a Braves’ no-hit bid broken up in the ninth in the last 10 years Shelby Miller’s bid was broken up by the Marlins with two outs on May 17, 2015) while Mike Foltynewicz had his pursuit of history ended June 30, 2017, when current Braves first baseman Matt Olson led off the ninth with a homer for the Athletics. And Sean Newcomb, who came within an out of a no-hitter against the Dodgers on July 29, 2018 was a former first-round draft pick who was the centerpiece of the Andrelton Simmons trade with the Angels at the start of the Braves’ rebuild in 2015.

“With all the Hall of Famers running through here and guys with electric stuff — they’re not easy, so many things have got to go right,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Maybe the pitcher to get everything to go right will be Fried, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning for the third tie this season Wednesday, when he settled for a complete game three-hitter in a 9-2 win over the Cubs. Or maybe it’ll be a pitcher in the midst of an otherwise ordinary career.

Or maybe the Braves will just keep going and going without a no-hitter, continuing their decades-long success on the mound while embodying the quirky and random nature of the no-hitter, or the lack of one.

“It’s really cool to be a part of an almost one — 26-outer,” Braves centerfielder Michael Harris II said. “So hopefully this season or in the near future, we can squeeze one out.”

The Atlanta Falcons have long faced pass rush questions, and first-year head coach Raheem Morris said at the owners meeting in late March how much he’s prioritized finding an answer.

Evidently, part of that process included cutting past ties, as Morris and the Falcons released outside linebacker Adetokunbo Ogundeji on May 16.

Ogundeji, a fifth-round pick in 2021, was forced into action early on Atlanta’s defensive front. He started 11 games as a rookie and ranked third on the team with five tackles for loss. In 2022, the former Notre Dame standout started all 16 games he played, though he mustered only two sacks and three tackles for loss.

But Ogundeji’s career took an unexpected twist last summer, as he suffered a lower-body injury in training camp that ultimately ended his 2023 season before it began.

Atlanta’s pass rush surged, recording 42 sacks after combining for just 39 in the previous two years. Change ensued this spring, as Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake replaced Arthur Smith and Ryan Nielsen, respectively.

The Falcons’ co-sack leaders – Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree, who had six apiece – hit the free agent market. Campbell is still unsigned while Dupree joined the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Atlanta didn’t make any hefty additions to its defensive front in free agency and waited until the third round to select an edge rusher, adding Washington’s Bralen Trice. The Falcons signed former Dallas Cowboys draftee Bradlee Anae after trying out at rookie minicamp May 10.

Yet for Morris, Atlanta ran out of room to keep Ogundeji on its roster.

“We were able to address it a little bit in the draft with Bralen,” Morris said. “We’re going to address that position a little bit later when we added Anae, and it’s a numbers issue for (Ogundeji).”

But the Falcons’ goodbye to Ogundeji isn’t necessarily a final farewell.

“That door is not closed,” Morris said. “You never know where we go there, but that was the decision on that.”

Morris left the door open for Ogundeji to rejoin the team on a different contract and perhaps as a member of the practice squad. It’s unlikely that he’ll be in high demand this summer.

Atlanta returns to practice with OTAs on June 3 at IBM Performance in Flowery Branch.

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Two Georgia state House incumbents have lost to challengers, another incumbent could face a runoff, and some former lawmakers may be on their way back to the Georgia Capitol after party primaries this week.

Republican Lauren Daniel lost a rematch of her 2022 primary to Noelle Kahaian on Tuesday in a district around Locust Grove in suburban Henry County, while Democrat Teri Anulewicz lost to challenger Gabriel Sanchez in a district around Smyrna in suburban Cobb County. Both districts had been significantly altered during a round of court-ordered redistricting last year.

Another result of that redistricting was Republicans pairing Democratic incumbents Becky Evans and Saira Draper in a DeKalb County district. Draper easily beat Evans in that matchup, although Evans had served longer in the House, in part because the redrawn district included more of Draper’s former territory.

And in far southeast Georgia, Republican Steven Sainz could be headed to a runoff against retired Naval officer and airline pilot Glenn Cook in a district that covers Camden County and part of Glynn County.

Sainz said late ballots could still put him over the top but that he’s operating on the assumption that there will be a runoff. “We plan to win,” Sainz wrote in a text.

Of course, it’s unusual for incumbents to face trouble in legislative primaries. In the Senate, all 11 incumbents who faced primaries won, including six Republicans and five Democrats. In the House 13 Republican and 13 Democratic incumbents turned back challengers.

Among incumbents who won were Sen. Elena Parent, an Atlanta Democrat who beat former state Sen. Nadine Thomas in a redrawn district covering parts of DeKalb and Clayton counties; Sen. Sally Harrell, an Atlanta Democrat who turned back a challenge from David Lubin in a DeKalb County district; and Sen. Ben Watson, a Savannah Republican who beat right-wing GOP challenger Beth Majeroni.

Sanchez ran on a platform of guaranteeing housing and health care to all Georgians, describing himself as a democratic socialist. Sanchez said Wednesday that his policy positions are more important than the label, but that this identity places him on the left wing of the Democratic caucus, whereas Anulewicz was in the middle of her party.

“I really have seen just how much the government doesn’t work for regular working people in Georgia, and we are missing voices who are really going to fight for working people,” said Sanchez, who said he also wanted to represent Hispanic voters in southern Cobb County.

He’s also been active in opposing a new Atlanta public safety training center, called “Cop City” by detractors.

Anulewicz said she would seek other ways to keep working for Georgians and her community.

“My service to my community helped make Georgia a more just and humane society, and for that I will always be proud,” Anulewicz said in a statement.

Kahaian may be further to the right than Daniel, who had focused on children’s and family issues as the mother of a young son, Zane, whom she often brought to the Capitol. Kahaian first rose to notice by working to make it easier for parents to challenge school books that they found inappropriate. She’s also been active in Republican efforts to change election laws after the 2020 election.

Daniel said she felt Kahaian had unfairly tried to make her race about national issues, saying low-turnout party primaries may contribute to a polarized legislature.

“I think it’s a mistake to nationalize a local seat like this, because I don’t think that’s how you serve anybody,” Daniel said.

Kahaian did not return a phone call and text seeking comment on Wednesday.

At least two former lawmakers could be returning to the Capitol’s gold dome. Floyd Griffin, formerly a state senator and Milledgeville mayor, won a Democratic primary in House District 149, covering parts of Baldwin, Bibb and Jones counties. He’ll face Republican incumbent Ken Vance in November in a district that was redrawn to give it a Black majority. And Valencia Stovall, a former House member, is going to a Democratic runoff in state Senate District 34, a Black-majority open seat that covers parts of Clayton and Fayette counties.

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