Ben Sheets rained all over Johan Santana’s Shea Stadium debut, and masterfully out-pitched our new ace as the Milwaukee Brewers topped the Mets 5-3 on Saturday.
Three home runs by Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks and Gabe Kapler helped end Santana’s day and a three-game losing streak.
He lasted 6 2-3 innings and allowed five runs and six hits with two walks, striking out seven and throwing two wild pitches. On the other side, Ben Sheets was brilliant, retiring 18 straight Mets at one point.
Not exactly the Shea Stadium premier we had hoped for from our newest ace, Johan Santana. He clearly didn’t bring his “A” game today, but even when he’s not at his best, he can still give us a chance to win. Today was just not his day or our day.
What pained me more than the loss, were the boos that awaited Johan as he walked off the mound for the final time today. It’s so sad to see a fan base that desperately wanted Johan Santana and finally get their wish, then turn around and boo him at the first chance they get to see him perform. Pathetic.
So what did Johan have to say about his first encounter with Shea’s boo birds? He was quite annoyed…
“If they boo, that’s fine. That’s the history they have from not being so good, I guess. I’ve seen it before; it’s not the first time I’ve seen that happen to a home player. We are not perfect. We are going to make mistakes sometimes. It’s just how you react to it and how you bounce back”.
There were not too many Mets highlights in this one. David Wright homered, but also added two more errors on the season. Luis Castillo returned to the lineup, but Jose Reyes was now the one nursing a mild injury.
Hey, tomorrows another day, and Oliver Perez should get us back on track. But please… I implore you… stop booing our players.
