Washington Nationals’ starting pitcher Odalis Perez opened the third inning with a single to right field Monday night to advance the NoNoHitters.com count to 7,356 New York Mets games without a no hitter.

Mets’ starter Nelson Figueroa lasted just five innings, giving up six runs (four of them earned) on five hits and five walks.

Perez, on the other hand, helped his cause at the plate by going 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Mets lost 10-4, and I don’t really have too much more to say about it. This season seems like it’s been two steps forward, two steps back.

David Wright made a diving grab in the first inning to save a run, but the Los Angeles Dodgers’ James Loney reached first on the play for an infield hit that moves the NoNoHitters.com count to 7,351 New York Mets games without a no hitter.

Starting pitcher Nelson Figueroa worked out of the jam to leave the bases loaded despite walking two in the inning. But he went on to give up five earned runs, eight hits and four walks over five innings while taking the Mets’ 5-4 loss on his record.

Dodgers’ reliever Hong-Chih Kuo struck out a remarkable eight batters during his 3 2/3 innings of work, singlehandedly killing the Mets’ offense during the middle innings. The Mets were finally able to get runners in scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings but could not capitalize.

The game featured a rare steal of home by a 41-year-old player, but it wasn’t in the traditional Jackie Robinson style.

The Mets had runners at the corners in the third inning when Angel Pagan took off from first. Dodgers’ catcher Russell Martin threw to second and Moises Alou took off from home. Both Pagan and Alou got their bases, and Alou had his fourth career steal of home - all coming on double-steals.

Braves catcher Brian McCann singled to right in the second inning Sunday to move the NoNoHitters.com count to 7,344 New York Mets games without a no hitter.

The Mets won 6-3 thanks to a pair of Carlos Delgado homers, but Billy Wagner’s streak of nine consecutive no-hit innings came to an end when the Mets closer gave up a line-drive single to right to Matt Diaz with one out in the ninth. Wagner went on to finish off the next two batters to get his sixth save of the season.

Nelson Figueroa got the start for the Mets and lasted 5 1/3 innings while giving up 3 earned runs, 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.

The Chicago Cubs’ Kosuke Fukudome hit a Nelson Figueroa pitch to right field for a single Tuesday to boost the NoNoHitters.com count to 7,339 New York Mets games without a no hitter.

The Brooklyn-born Figueroa, making his third start for the Mets, looked strong in his first two appearances for the club. But he walked five and gave up three runs in the fourth inning Tuesday during the Mets’ 7-1 loss.

A no hitter? Try a 14 hitter.

Nelson Figueroa, who retired the first 14 batters he faced in his first Mets start against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 11, walked the first batter Thursday night and then retired 10 straight Washington Nationals before giving up his first hit - an infield comebacker by Ryan Zimmerman.

The ball hit Figueroa’s mitt and trickled too slowly to Jose Reyes for him to make a play, thus bumping our NoNoHitters.com count up to 7,334 games without a New York Mets no hitter.

Unfortunately, the infield hit was followed by a towering Nick Johnson blast over the right field wall to give the Nats a 2-1 lead.

Figueroa, 33, was making his second start for the Mets. He was originally drafted by New York in the third round of the 1995 MLB draft (833rd overall). The Mets traded Figueroa and Bernard Gilkey to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he pitched his first game with that club in 2000.

Figueroa looked strong in his second start (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts), and with the way he’s retiring strings of early batters, I’m thinking he - eventually - just could be the one.

A little-known right-hander from Brooklyn retired the first 14 Milwaukee Brewers batters Friday night, reaching the halfway point of what no New York Met has done before him - pitch a no hitter.

Nelson Figueroa lost the perfect game with two outs in the fifth, walking Corey Hart on four pitches.

Mets announcer Ron Darling nearly committed the unthinkable at this point, but he stopped himself short. Referring to Nelson’s large family contingent on hand at Shea, Darling said: “Well, I wonder if the Figueroas were dreaming a little bit of something crazy there, but of course the walk … back to get Hardy.”

Careful there Ron. If we’re going to break this streak, we can’t go talking about it on air!

The next batter J.J. Hardy stepped in the box, and Figueroa gave up a line-drive double down the third-base line.

If Figueroa could have completed the feat, it would have came on the 46th anniversary of the Mets’ first game, when Roger Craig gave up a first-inning single to left to the St. Louis Cardinals’ Julian Javier starting a no no hitters streak that would last 7,329 games and counting.

Friday night’s game (Mets win 4-2) was Figueora’s first start for the Mets, and he was brilliant. In six innings of work, Figueroa gave up two runs and two hits, while walking two and striking out six. The bullpen held the Brewers hitless, with Joe Smith, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner all getting it done.

Figueroa, 33, was originally drafted by the Mets (1995, third round) but broke into the Majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching his first game in 2000.

The Brandeis University graduate bounced around with several organizations - the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals. After suffering a rotator cuff injury, Figueroa played in Mexico and Taiwan. Figueroa was the MVP of the 2007 Taiwan Series CPBL championship series, winning three games for the Uni-President Lions.

His father, Nelson Figueroa Sr., spoke to SNY sideline reporter Kevin Burkhardt during the bottom of the fourth inning after watching his son retire the first 12 batters. The lifelong Met fan said, “This is a dream come true. I died and went to heaven.”

Oliver Perez gave up a leadoff single to Hanley Ramirez (which Ramirez unsuccessfully tried to stretch into a double) to bump our NoNoHitters.com no hitters count to 7,323 games. But that’s OK, as the Mets won 13-0.

Perez had a great outing, striking out 8, scattering 5 hits and walking just one in 6 innings of work. The 26-year-old lefty from Mexico, is coming off his best season, going 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA. It was good enough to earn him a $6.5 million salary for this year, and the Mets hope he’ll earn it this season, especially with Pedro Martinez just being placed on the disabled list.

The team says Martinez likely will miss 4-6 weeks.

To take his roster spot, the Mets called up Nelson Figueroa from the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs and gave him immediate work - a 3-up 3-down inning in relief of Perez.

Manager Willie Randolph hasn’t yet set who will take Martinez’s scheduled start. Perez could move up under a four-man rotation, or Jorge Sosa could be pulled out of the bullpen.

The MRI results aren’t yet in, but the
Daily Record is reporting that the New York Mets have placed Pedro Martinez on the 15-day disabled list.

Martinez pulled his left hamstring in the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Marlins, saying he heard a pop.

The Mets are bringing up Nelson Figueroa to fill Martinez’s roster spot, but speculation is they could go with a four-man rotation for the near future.

John Maine is making a case this spring to enter the season as our favorite to break the no no hitters curse.

Maine threw six shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles today, giving up just one hit - a two-out, up-the-middle single by Nick Markakis.

Sidewinder Joe Smith (0 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk in 1 2/3 inning) and Nelson Figueroa (0 runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout in 1 1/3 innings) closed the door for the Mets, giving New York a combined two-hit, 1-0 shutout.

Maine this spring has a 1.78 ERA, fanning 28 batters in 25 1/3 innings.

Wow! Let’s hope he keeps that up!