Happy Johan Santana Day!
After a sound win on Monday night, the Mets look to make it two straight in Atlanta and five straight against the Braves overall as they send ace Johan Santana to the hill tonight in the ATL. First pitch from Turner Field is slated for 7:10 pm and the game can be seen on SNY or heard, as always, on WFAN 660AM. Join the conversation on Twitter by following @dailystache or yours truly, @DevOnSports.
Johan Santana enters his third start of the season coming off his longest outing since anterior capsule surgery in last Wednesday’s loss to the Nationals. Johan went 5+ innings, but threw 99 pitches and didn’t report any pain or soreness afterward, a good sign to say the least.
Following a down Sunday in Philly, the Mets offense awoke on Monday night and got the series started on the right note. Ike Davis appears to be heating up and has now homered in two straight games. Jason Bay also went yard on Monday and made a homer-robbing catch in left field, proving that as long as he’s not being booed by Mets fans, he can at least be somewhat useful. With Santana the obvious exception, Terry Collins kept the lineup intact for tonight’s game.
Mets Lineup:
Tejada - Murphy - Wright - Davis - Bay - Duda - Thole - Nieuwenhuis - Santana
Stache Facts:
Tonight will mark the first time this season the Mets have trotted out the same 1-8 in the lineup on back-to-back nights. Ike Davis’ three-run home run last night off Tommy Hanson was the fourth of his career against Atlanta. The only team he has homered against more times is San Francisco (5).
Braves Lineup:
Bourn - Heyward - Jones - McCann - Uggla - Diaz - Freeman - Pastornicky - Delgado
Stache Fact:
Matt Diaz is inexplicably 17-of-34 (.500) lifetime against Johan Santana with four doubles and a homer. His fifth inning double was one of only two hits for the Braves off Santana in his Opening Day start.
Pitching Matchup:
NYM- Johan Santana (0-1, 0.90 ERA, 10 IP, 13 K, 5 BB) Johan takes the mound tonight with his restrictions at a minimum. Barring some rain, the New York ace should have free reign over his own limitations. Still the Mets have to hope Santana can begin to pitch deep into games. There’s something to be said for taking this process slowly, but a long string of five-inning outings could start to put a major strain on the bullpen.
Tonight is already Santana’s second start of the year against Atlanta. He started against the Braves on Opening Day, throwing five innings of scoreless two-hit ball. The performance earned Johan a no decision in a game the Mets eventually won 1-0. Dan Uggla in particular was baffled by Santana, striking out in his only two plate appearances against the lefty.
ATL – Randall Delgado (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 6 K, 2 BB) After lining up against opposing aces his first two starts, Santana will be opposed tonight by Braves fifth starter Randall Delgado. Tonight’s game marks just the ninth career start for the Atlanta rookie, who made spot starts in June and August of last year before joining the rotation in September. Delgado isn’t known for his control and in each of his last six starts dating back to last September, he’s gone just five innings. In fact, he’s only gone more than five innings once in his career.
Delgado was effective, if not efficient in his first outing of this 2012 season, limiting the Astros to just two runs on five hits in five innings. He struck out six, a career-high, and was credited with the W in a 6-3 Braves win.
Stache Keys to the Game:
- Keep on Rolling with the Ace – There’s been plenty to be happy about through a 7-3 start to this season, but Santana’s start has to rank at the top of the list. Johan has set the tone for the entire team since Opening Day and as long as he’s out there throwing quality innings, the Mets are better off.
- Back Him Up! – Though they own one of the league’s best records, the Mets rank in the lower third of MLB in runs scored through the first 10 games with 36. Exactly ZERO of those 36 runs have come in support of Johan. That needs to change tonight. At some point the bats need to start backing Johan so he can go out there and pitch without having to tiptoe around a tie game.
- Make the Rookie Work – This should be a key to every game, but it’s especially true in this case as the Mets face an inefficient young pitcher. A patient approach will be key because Delgado has been known to pile up the walks. If the hitters can put him in high-ball situations, there’s a decent chance he’ll make a mistake they can capitalize on.
This Date in Mets History:
April 17th is yet another historic day in Mets history as it marks the anniversary of the day Shea Stadium opened back in 1964.
Big Shea, circa 1964.
The ’64 Mets lost 4-3 to the Pirates that day. The game featured the first triple and home run in Shea Stadium history, hit by Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell respectively, a pretty great little fact in itself.
April 17th is also a milestone date for two former Mets who played their best ball before arriving in Flushing. On April 17, 2006 — in his third start of a season that would be derailed by injury — Pedro Martinez won his 200th career game, a 4-3 Mets victory over the Braves. Three years later on April 17, 2009, Gary Sheffield launched his 500th career homer as the Mets defeated the Brewers 5-4.
