Sunday marked Johan Santana’s second attempt at 13 wins. Last time Santana pitched, he gave up five runs in eight innings of work. He left with a 7 – 5 lead, only to watch Francisco Rodriguez blow the save, and the Mets lose it in the tenth.
This time around, Santana pitched a much better game, giving up just one earned run on five hits and two walks in eight strong innings. He also helped himself at the plate, getting two hits, including a 2-RBI double in the top of the sixth that put the Mets up by a score of three to nothing. Santana was absolutely brilliant, and this time left with a 4 – 1 lead. Daniel Murphy’s RBI-single in the top of the ninth made it 5 – 1, and this time Francisco Rodriguez was able to shut the door on the opposition.
Santana is now 13 – 7 on the year with a 3.00 ERA.
The Mets got two-hit games from five players Sunday. Jeff Francoeur had another fine game going 2 for 4 with two runs. He is now hitting .262 on the season. (He is hitting .292 since being traded to the Mets.) Luis Castillo went 2 for 5 and is now hitting .297 on the season. Anderson Hernandez went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a walk. Daniel Murphy was 2 for 5. And then, of course, Santana went 2 for 3.
It was a nice game for the Mets. Great pitching. Good hitting, although they did leave eight men on base. Good fielding, including a slick double play in the second inning. And they got to rest their bullpen.
With the Phillies losing their third straight Sunday, the Mets are now 10 back in the NL East, and with the Giants losing as well, the Mets now find themselves just 9 back in the Wild Card hunt.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.