Broken helmet: 2-0.
Pitching Performance
Johan Santana as: The Ace. This guy is something special. Santana allowed eight hits over seven innings of baseball. He walked only two, and let up his only run in the seventh inning on a double by, you guessed it, Anderson Hernandez.
Santana matched the number of hits he gave up with the number of Nationals he struck out.
I'm so confident with him on the mound. Santana brought his season ERA down to 2.65. Two point six five! He should be in contention for the Cy Young if it wasn't for the sieve we call the Mets bullpen.
Joe Smith struggled a bit in the eighth, letting up three hits and one run. He also struck out two. Scott Schoeneweis and Pedro Feliciano combined to close it out. Schoe allowed two hits, but Feliciano was able to work out of trouble again.
No criticizing the bullpen tonight. Well done, guys.
Offensive Output
The bats are awake and unlikely sources are driving in runs.
Mets jumped on the board early, as usual, with a run in the first. Jose Reyes led off the game with a double, followed by a Daniel Murphy single to center. An error on Lastings Milledge allowed Murphy to trot to third. He was then stranded there.
After the first, I feared the Mets wouldn't score again. Thankfully, I was wrong.
In the second, Brian Schneider cracked his first home run of the night, a solo shot to right field. Santana helped his own cause, doubling to follow his battery mate's homer. Reyes proceeded to single him in.
These spurts of offense from Schneid are so unexpected. I'm more shocked then happy when he homers.
In the third, the Mets put runs on the board for the third consecutive inning. With two outs, Carlos Delgado walked. Carlos Beltran followed that up with a triple to right field, plating Delgado. Ryan Church then singled to drive in Beltran.
Keep on scoring, boys.
Four for four, as Schneider hit another solo shot.
Weird.
Five for five went the Mets, when Church singled home Delgado for the Mets seventh, and final run.
Good enough. I like what I'm seeing from these bats.
The Rest of the Story
David Wright: 0-5, K.
The Mets had six extra base hits. (3 2B, 3B, 2 HR.)
Game Ball: Johan Santana and Brian Schneider.
