MVN - Most Valuable Network

Santana dazzles, beats Hamels and Phils

It’s not often that filth can be pretty. That is, unless, you’re Johan Santana. The much anticipated battle between Santana and Phils lefty Cole Hamels ended with the Mets victorious for the third straight time against their N.L. East foes. Along the way, Santana masterfully pitched seven innings, giving up three runs and striking out ten Phillies in the process.

Santana was not alone in his pursuit to stop the Phillies. He had plenty of help from third baseman David Wright, who went 4 for 4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored.

The Mets got a scare in the 2^nd inning when shortstop Jose Reyes attempted to steal 2^nd base. On his slide, Reyes collided head first with Chase Utley’s knee, and immediately gestured for help from the dugout. After a stoppage in play of about five minutes, Reyes remained in the game and scored on Wright’s one-out triple that got past center fielder Jayson Werth.

With the Mets leading 2-0, Santana continued dealing. He appeared to relish the opportunity of pitching in front of a sold out crowd at Citizens Bank Park. He wanted to ruin the beautiful evening with some magic of his own. He kept the Phillies off the board until the 7^th inning, when Chase Utley crushed a dead-center field homerun off Santana to cut the New York lead to one.

Hamels ran into trouble in the 8^th, but for the third time in four starts received almost no run support. The Mets tacked on three runs in the frame, with Hamels giving way to J.C. Romero after loading the bases. Hamels finished with a seven inning performance, allowing four earned runs and striking out four. He got into trouble by walking three, and it cost him.

The Phillies rallied behind a Greg Dobbs three-run homerun in the bottom of the 8^th, but the Mets got another run in the 9^th. Billy Wagner turned the Phillies down in order in the bottom of the 9^th for his third save of the season.

It was up to Santana to ruin the perfect evening. There was a majestically bright sky, temperatures in the 70s, and the hated Mets in town. Hate the Mets, but respect the job Santana did in this one. He shut the Phillies down after their biggest offensive explosion of the season on Thursday. Johan could be ruining a lot of moods in Philly this year.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 10:46 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.