Completely dominant
OK, so Johan Santana can throw a complete game after all.
A day after the Mets lost deep into the night in 14 innings, exhausting their bullpen in the process, Santana took it all the way and gave his relievers a break -- not that they had done him any good recently. Santana's complete-game six hitter (one walk, five strikeouts) kept the Mets in sole possession of first place and maintained their current streak of hotness. The Mets have won 11 of their last 13 at Shea and 15 of 19 overall.
Santana had plenty of run support this time, getting two hits himself (including a bizarre single deep down the RF line where it looked like he forgot he wasn't taking batting practice after the ball stayed fair) and driving in a run. Ramon Castro and David Wright homered and everyone in the lineup got a hit. Jose Reyes, Endy Chavez and Wright, the top three in the order, went a combined 7-for-15 and the Mets finished with 17 hits.
What can you say about Fernando Tatis? The guy was basically exiled from major league baseball and now that he has had his second chance, he ain't letting go. It's because of players like him that the Mets are contending again. He hit the game-tying homer in the ninth Saturday and hit a two-run homer in the sixth, followed two batters later by Castro's two-run blast that gave the Mets a 7-0 lead.
And then there is Carlos Beltran. I hope Joe Benigno and Mike Francesca and Chris Russo were watching this game. How anyone who pays attention cannot see that Beltran is not just a good centerfielder but a fantastic one is beyond me. The stats back it up, watching him every day confirms it. And then he tosses in a highlight-reel catch like he did Sunday, bringing a homer back into the ballpark. Amazing.
As hot as the Mets have been, the Phillies and the Marlins haven't gone anywhere, and you hope the team isn't peaking too soon. But I'd rather worry about that than be where we were two months ago, which was trying to stomach tremendous disappointment. Instead, baseball is fun again.
A day after the Mets lost deep into the night in 14 innings, exhausting their bullpen in the process, Santana took it all the way and gave his relievers a break -- not that they had done him any good recently. Santana's complete-game six hitter (one walk, five strikeouts) kept the Mets in sole possession of first place and maintained their current streak of hotness. The Mets have won 11 of their last 13 at Shea and 15 of 19 overall.
Santana had plenty of run support this time, getting two hits himself (including a bizarre single deep down the RF line where it looked like he forgot he wasn't taking batting practice after the ball stayed fair) and driving in a run. Ramon Castro and David Wright homered and everyone in the lineup got a hit. Jose Reyes, Endy Chavez and Wright, the top three in the order, went a combined 7-for-15 and the Mets finished with 17 hits.
What can you say about Fernando Tatis? The guy was basically exiled from major league baseball and now that he has had his second chance, he ain't letting go. It's because of players like him that the Mets are contending again. He hit the game-tying homer in the ninth Saturday and hit a two-run homer in the sixth, followed two batters later by Castro's two-run blast that gave the Mets a 7-0 lead.
And then there is Carlos Beltran. I hope Joe Benigno and Mike Francesca and Chris Russo were watching this game. How anyone who pays attention cannot see that Beltran is not just a good centerfielder but a fantastic one is beyond me. The stats back it up, watching him every day confirms it. And then he tosses in a highlight-reel catch like he did Sunday, bringing a homer back into the ballpark. Amazing.
As hot as the Mets have been, the Phillies and the Marlins haven't gone anywhere, and you hope the team isn't peaking too soon. But I'd rather worry about that than be where we were two months ago, which was trying to stomach tremendous disappointment. Instead, baseball is fun again.
posted by Gaspo @ 8:04 PM
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