Mets ace Johan Santana received a no decision on April 24 against Miami in the Mets’ 2-1 come-from-behind victory against the Fish. Santana pitched 6.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits and recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts in his best start of the season. It was his 50th career double-digit strikeout game.
Continuing to get stronger as the season wears on, Santana tossed 105 pitches in his last game, the most he has tossed since August 22, 2010 at Pittsburgh when he threw 109 pitches. Brimming with confidence, the decision was made that on Sunday, Santana will pitch for the first time this season on the traditional four days of rest. Before today, he has gotten an extra day of rest between every start. “Everything has been fine and no problems,” the Mets left-hander said. “I’m ready to get back on the mound.”
Johan goes up against the ageless wonder Jaime Moyer, who at age 47 continues to pitch well for the Rockies and confounds the experts.
Santana has a perfect record against the Rockies in his career. In two career starts vs. Colorado, Santana is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 16 innings pitched with 18 strikeouts. The last time he faced them in 2010, he spun a masterful four hit shutout.
It would seem a win today is written in the stars, but when has any victory come so easily for these Mets?
In four starts this season, the Mets have yet to score a single run for their come-back ace. It’s incredible to believe, but true enough and hardly surprising.
Going into this season who would have thought that scoring runs would be the biggest concern in a Johan Santana start?
It’s a testament to how far Santana has come and a reflection of his warrior’s mentality that makes him such a great competitor and the perfect pitcher to lead this rotation. I hope Sandy Alderson doesn’t do something stupid and trades him at the deadline. Our youngsters could gain so much from an ace like this.
Enjoy the game.
