The Game

Now this is the Johan Santana the Mets thought they were getting in the offseason. Santana continued his second half dominance and the Mets stretched their winning streak to six games in Sunday’s 4-0 defeat of the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Having won five straight after Monday’s meltdown at Shea, Met ace Johan Santana looked to keep it rolling on Sunday… and keep it rolling he did. Santana tossed a complete game three hit shutout while striking out seven and walking none. It was as stress free a day that a Met starter has had this year as the Pirates never mounted a serious threat. Meanwhile Santana’s battery mate, Brian Schneider, was the unlikely hero on offense as he collected two hits (including his second home run of the week) and knocked in three. Carlos Beltran also homered to round out the scoring. But, the story of this game begins and ends with Santana. Johan improved to 11-7 on the season and lowered his ERA to a tidy 2.75. While Santana’s first season in New York hasn’t been as dominant as Met fans were hoping, he has put together a solid campaign and appears to be hitting his stride as the season winds down. Much like he has done throughout his career, Santana is pitching his best in the second half (3-0, 2.51 ERA). If the New York bullpen was competent, Santana could easily have 15 wins at this point, which would have his name squarely in the middle of Cy Young talk.

John Maine looks to continue New York’s string of solid starting pitching (6-0, 1.52 ERA in their last seven starts) on Monday afternoon. The Pirates counter with Paul Maholm, their only decent starter, as the Mets go for the four game sweep.

The Haiku

Santana’s brilliance
Is by now expected. But
Schneider’s power bat?

The Boxscore

The Win Probability Added Graph

The Credits

Recap by Chuck Buono
Haiku by Howard Megdal