The Mets got the scoring started in a way no one would have expected. After Tejada singled up the middle with one out in the bottom of the third, Santana tried to bunt him over. However, for some weird reason Tejada decided to steal on the play and was thrown out easily. What did Santana do? Oh, he just homered on the 12th pitch of his marathon at bat, a line drive off the right field foul pole. The homer was Santana's first of his career. 1-0 Mets.
After beginning to wonder if the Mets would ever give Santana any run support, they quieted my thoughts in the sixth. Reyes lead off with a bunt single. He was moved to second on a fielder's choice by Pagan and then Wright was intentionally walked. They were moved over to second and third after what was one of the worst throws I've ever seen, by Votto. He made a nice stab on a hard grounder by Ike, but then made a weird belly flop in the midst of trying to throw the ball to second and it, as expected was nowhere near the bag. Fortunately for the Reds, Cabrera was able to recover and get the out at first. But for some inexplicable reason, the lefty Maloney was left in to face Bay with the open bag at first. Instead of pitching around/walking him, they pitched to him and Bay made them pay. He drilled a single to center to make it 3-0.
That would be all the support Santana needed on the night as he pitched a magnificent three hit shutout. He walked three on the day, but struck out five and was throwing 91 mph consistently in the ninth inning. It was certainly the Johan Santana Show tonight. Let's go Mets!
Post Game 7/6/10 Mets 3 - Reds 0
