HEADLINE...
Johan Santana...So That's What An Ace Looks Like...
High-priced Mets' lefty Johan Santana (W, 14-7) pitched 7.0 innings tonight, allowing 8 hits, 1 ER and 2 walks with 8 K's, 107 pitches thrown and a 2.65 ERA when he exited the game after surrendering an RBI single to former-Met Anderson Hernandez, before retiring the next two batters to strand two Nationals' runners and leave NY ahead 7-1 heading into the eighth.
As per usual the Mets' bullpen struggled, allowing a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth when Wil Nieves knocked in Elijah Dukes after Dukes too had singled off NY righty "Generic" Joe Smith with one down in the frame. 7-2 NY. Smith got the final out of the eighth when Alberto Gonzalez rolled a grounder to Wright at third...Scott Schoeneweis started the ninth for New York, and got one out before surrendering back to back singles to Roger Bernadina and Ryan Zimmerman, bringing Mets' Manager Jerry Manuel out to the mound and left-hander Pedro Feliciano out of the bullpen to face another lefty, Ryan Langerhans, Lefty vs. Lefty, with two on in the ninth...Langerhans grounds back to the mound, Feliciano to Jose Reyes at second to Carlos Delgado at first, double play, Mets win. 7-2 final.
DC righty Tim Redding got knocked out early, throwing only 3.0 innings in which he got hit hard for two doubles, a triple, a HR to Brian Schneider and 7 hits overall, with the former DC backstop Schneider also taking Jason Bergmann deep on Bergmann's first pitch in relief of Redding in the fourth. Steven Shell allowed 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 3 over 2.0 IP. Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera rebounded from two bad outings with a scoreless inning of relief in the eighth, and Jesus "Everday" Colome pitched the top of the ninth before the Nationals came up short in the bottom of the inning...
Federalbaseball.com...Stressing The Positives Since August '07...
Ryan Zimmerman ended the night 3 for 5, hitting .285 in '08, though he's been anything but clutch with RISP recently. (ed. note - "Positives, positives...")...Elijah Dukes was 2 for 3 with a walk, and he's hitting .277 after tonight's game. Cristian Guzman was 2 for 4, and he's at .316 on the season...and on the mound, it was Steven Shell, with a two-strike-backdoor-slider to get Ryan Church looking in the 7th...(though Church ended the day 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's and a .288 AVG on the year)...Which begs the question???...(SEE POLL)
Mets win 7-2. The Mets Also Win The '08 DC/NY series 12-6.
See ya next year, _ _ _ _s!!
For The Completists, Full Game Report After The Jump...
Nationals now 58-95. (Countdown To 100 Losses Stands At...5.)
Jose Reyes chops a single by a diving Ryan Zimmerman at third for a leadoff double that bounces into left. Lastings Milledge pulls up short on a line drive from Daniel Murphy and then lets the ball get by him and roll into deep center, Reyes scores, Murphy to third. 1-0 NY. Tim Redding gets the first out with a high 94 mph 2-2 fastball that David Wright can’t catch up with. Carlos Delgado pops out behind second. Murphy still on third. Carlos Beltran pops out foul of third to end the Mets’ first...Anderson Hernandez swings way ahead of a two-strike change. Cristian Guzman pops out on the first pitch. Ryan Zimmerman battles Johan Santana, and eventually lines one off the Mets’ pitcher’s foot. Another two-strike change gets Milledge swinging to end the first...
Ryan Church tops off a grounder to first that Aaron Boone handles. Ryan Zimmerman takes a knee and a backhand stab at Argenis Reyes’ hard-hit one-hopper and comes up with it, firing to first in time. Brian Schneider takes Redding deeeep to right, Elijah Dukes tracks it but turns back at the wall as it soars into the pen for a 2-0 lead. Johan Santana hits a two-out double to center, and Jose Reyes knocks him in with an RBI single, 3-0 NY. Reyes gets nailed attempting to steal on a quick throw from Wil Nieves, 3-0 NY after the top of the second...Elijah Dukes rips a single through short. Aaron Boone gets more of the slow stuff from Johan Santana. Dukes gets caught trying to take second. Willie Harris flies out to center to end the second.
Redding gets Murphy swinging. Ryan Zimmerman dives, fields David Wright’s sharp grounder and throws Wright out from his knees. Carlos Delgado takes a two-out walk from Redding. Carlos Beltran sends a towering fly to right and Dukes misses as it bounces off the out-of-town scoreboard for a two-out RBI triple. 4-0 NY. Ryan Church sends a liner zipping out to right to score Beltran for a 5-0 lead. Argenis Reyes grounds into a force to end the frame...Wil Nieves grounds out to short. Emilio Bonifacio K’s on three pitches. Anderson Hernandez lines into Church’s glove to end the third.
Jason Bergmann’s on in relief, and the first pitch to Schneider ends up in the Nationals’ bullpen for Schneider’s second HR. 6-0 NY. Guzman makes a sliding play on Santana’s grounder, and throws him out by two steps at first. Jose Reyes pops out to Boone foul of first. Bergmann walks Daniel Murphy. David Wright rips a line drive into Zimmerman’s glove...Cristian Guzman reaches on an infield single when Carlos Delgado tosses ten feet over first and the covering pitcher. Ryan Zimmerman flies unproductively to short center. Milledge pops out to the infield. Elijah Dukes takes a two-out walk. Aaron Boone beats out a hard grounder to third, that Wright knocks down but can’t handle. Willie Harris has a bases loaded, two-out chance, and he K’s swinging over an offspeed pitch in the dirt to end the fourth. 6-0 NY.
Carlos Delgado beats the dramatic shift with a head-hunting grounder that takes a wicked hop over Boone. Beltran grounds out to move Delgado to third. Ryan Church rips an RBI single to right, Delgado jogs in. 7-0 NY. Anderson Hernandez spins and throws to second to cut down Church on the force. Brian Schneider grounds out. 7-0 Mets in the fifth...Wil Nieves K’s swinging through a high 83 mph change. Another 2-2 change gets Kory Casto to K swinging. Anderson Hernandez grounds out to short. 7-0 NY after five innings...Steven Shell’s on in the sixth. Johan Santana makes Dukes run all the way into the right field corner to catch the first out of the frame. Jose Reyes swings over a full count slider on the low outside corner. Daniel Murphy ramps a grounder over the mound through Shell’s wickets and into center for a single. Wright grounds out to second...Cristian Guzman slaps a leadoff single through short. Zimmerman follows suits with his own grounder into left. Two on for Milledge. Lastings Milledge shatters his bat grounding into a force at second. First and third for Dukes. Santana gets a two-strike slider inside for a called strike three on Dukes. Aaron Boone grounds out to third. Six scoreless for Santana.
Shell throws a low two-strike fastball by Carlos Delgado’s bat. Shell walks Carlos Beltran. Shell breaks a two-strike slider back in from outside to get Church looking for the second out. Argenis Reyes hits a short fly to right, and Willie Harris fights it off to make the catch...Willie Harris grounds to second. Wil Nieves sneaks a single in in front of Daniel Murphy in left. Luke Montz gets a pinch hit chance, and he draws a walk in front of Anderson Hernandez. Hernandez hits an RBI double over first to score Nieves. 7-1 NY. Guzman pops out to second. Ryan Zimmerman flies out to right...
Saul Rivera starts the eighth on the mound. Schneider flies out to center. Marlon Anderson grounds to second. Jose Reyes K’s swinging over a 1-2 slider...The Mets go to the pen, “Generic” Joe Smith is up first, and he gets Milledge swinging. Elijah Dukes rips a single under Jose Reyes’ outstretched glove and into center. Aaron Boone K’s swinging at a fastball inside. Willie Harris singles Dukes over to third, and Dukes scores when Wil Nieves lines an RBI single to center. 7-2 NY. Alberto Gonzalez grounds sharply to third, where Wright handles the final out of the eighth.
Jesus “Everyday” Colome comes on for the ninth. Alberto Gonzalez is in short center to field Daniel Murphy’s groundout behind second. David Wright sends Roger Bernadina scurrying back to catch the second out. Roger Bernadina sprints back to rob Delgado of extra bases, slamming into the wall to grab the final out of the Mets’ ninth...Scott Schoeneweis faces Anderson Hernandez, and gets a weak fly to right. Roger Bernadina goes up the middle with a one-out single to center. Zimmerman sends a single skipping into right field. Pedro Feliciano vs Ryan Langerhans, Lefty vs Lefty. Full count pitch, Langerhans grounds to the mound, Feliciano to Reyes at second, to Delgado, double play. Mets win. 7-2 final.
Nationals now 58-95. (Countdown To 100 Losses Stands At...5.)