11
2012
Santana, Mets Demolished in 9-3 Loss To The Braves
An article by 
In simple terms, Santana did not have a successful return to the mound in a 9-3 loss to the Braves on Saturday evening.
Summary
Well, Johan Santana made his return to the mound on Saturday evening to the tune of a broken guitar, to be nice about it. He was not technically hit hard, but he was hit frequently as a plethora of singles led to a plethora of runs. Santana lasted just four outs in this one and was charged with eight earned runs off eight hits and a walk. The Braves led off the game with back to back singles, and Santana responded with back to back strikeouts, which put a little hope into the hearts of our fans. Freddie Freeman, however, had other plans and hit Santana for a two-out, two-run double. After getting out of that jam, he walked the first batter in the second, and allowed singles to five of the next six batters he faced. Even opposing starter Kris Medlen joined in on the action, which was tough.
Santana was pulled with two men on base and six earned runs allowed, but the first man Jeremy Hefner faced pulled off his best Chipper Jones impression (Freddie Freeman again) and took him deep for a three run homer. This closed the book on Santana and the Braves scoring overall, as Hefner would go on to record 11 outs after that without allowing another run. Manny Acosta, Jon Rauch, and Frank Francisco combined for a subsequent scoreless four innings, while striking out eight.
The scoring seemed like a case of way too little, too late in this one. Andres Torres picked up an RBI single in the second inning to make it 9 – 1. Ruben Tejada drilled an RBI 2B and Wright picked up an RBI single in the eighth to give the Mets three runs overall, but that wraps it up really. Eight hits overall for the Mets offense – Tejada/Torres each had a pair. The team struck out eleven times.
Turning Point
Kris Medlen driving home a run and continuing the assault against Santana, who was really off tonight.
Notes
Here comes the news that will probably make things look even more bleak.
Santana, in his past four starts, has allowed at least six earned runs in every single one of them. This has caused his ERA to jump from 2.76 to 4.58 and his record to fall to 6 – 8.
Since Santana’s last win, which was a shutout over the Dodgers on June 3rd, the Mets are 11-24. He managed to get in only about 43 pitches tonight. The 1.1 IP is tied for the shortest of his career.
Jason Bay came in as a pinch hitter and went 0 – 2 with 2 K’s.
Up Next
Jon Niese (8-6, 3.82) looks to put the Mets back on track against the Braves, who will counter with Ben Sheets (4-1, 1.41) at 8:00 PM.
Is it weird to think we might have had a shot at Broxton or Sheets? I do not know the details of the situation, just curious in terms of depth… Eh.
LGM!
About the Author: Satish Ram
I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.
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Well that wasn’t pretty. Damage control will be prevalent in the morning.
SHORT; BUT TOO TYPICAL OF HIS INABILITY TO STEP IT UP AGAINST ATL,PHL OR NYY. HEFNER COULD HAVE EASILTY DONE IT FOR SOOOO MUCH LESS INVESTMENT. WHEN IS EVERYONE GOING TO REALIZE THIS “EMPEROR” IS AS NAKED AS A JAY-BIRD!
The sad thing is that Santana was such a money player when he had a healthy arm.The real turning point tonight was when the national anthem ended and this pathetic team had to try and compete.
I thought Young was pitching Sunday?
It’s all over. Time to think 2013. Alderson 9 straight losing seasons.
Time to think 2013?? Did you get a report hinting that Alderson and the Wilpons will be gone?
2013? I see pretty much the same as this year. Amazing how fast I went from watching every inning because of how fun they were to watch, to not being able to
watch the entire game. Sad.
feel the same way..How do u go from competitive to the KC Royals in 3 weeks?
Now the Mets are in real trouble. It is reported the fans in attendance have charged the Mets with assault.
Update to assualt charges: After a police investigation the charges were dropped. It was determined that bats in the hands of Met hitters could not be considered weapons, However the detective investigating the case said the charges may be refiled and the Mets could be charged with “falsely representing themselves as a professional baseball team to entice the public to buy tickets.” His conclusion was that after paying to get into Citi Field and to see what was going on was like paying for a Rolls Royce only to find out it had a Yugo engine.
Santana 2 shortest outings of the season both courtesy of the Braves. The velocity looked like it was there and he says his arm feels fine. A couple of those balls hit off him last night go just a little to the left or right and we may be talking about a vastly different outcome. The question now is will they pitch Santana on 6 days rest the rest of the way or not. His next start on regular rest would be Aug 16 at Cin or if he goes on 6 days rest it would be Aug 17 at Was.
Mets starters have gone from an NL best 2.48/ERA for the month of June to an NL 3rd worst 5.33/ERA in July and a NL 2nd worst 4.91/ERA so far in August. Needless to say the Mets were only going to go as far as the starting pitching took them and right now it’s not taking them very far.
Niese is on the hill and hopefully the Mets can avoid being swept and falling further below .500.
LGM!
A disgrace. Constantly rebuilding, always searching for more RBI men and never finding them etc. and they did not get any help for Collins when things were going well.
Alderson has no interest in the fans. What a sorry way to waste a Saturday nite. First half of year was fun. Second half, management did nothing to invigorate the Mets. Anderson acted as if he was in Oakland. Collins lacks boldness, is obsessed with Bay..worst position player in MLB. Just two home wins over last two months. What’s the point of going to Citifield? Another dreary season ending.