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Santana aims to continue second-half dominance vs. Astros

Aug 2, 2008 - 10:26 AM Ny Mets (58-51) at Houston (51-57) 7:05 pm. EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Johan Santana has been nearly unbeatable in the second half, and the two-time Cy Young Award winner will look to continue that dominance on Saturday as the New York Mets face the Houston Astros.

Santana (9-7, 2.93 ERA) is coming off his first complete game in over a year, and is unbeaten in his last five starts. The 29-year-old lefthander will try and help the Mets snap a two-game skid.

Aaron Heilman allowed a pinch-hit grand slam to Mark Loretta in the eighth inning, and the Astros posted a 7-3 victory on Friday.

New York, which trails Philadelphia (59-50) by one game in the National League East, hopes Santana's last start is a sign that he is ready to dominate in the second half as he has in the past.

Santana allowed one run and six hits in a 9-1 victory over St. Louis on Sunday to improve to 51-17 with a 2.81 ERA in the second half during his nine-year career. To put things in perspective, Santana has the same amount of wins and twice as many losses in the first half of the season (51-34).

The Astros counter with struggling ace, Roy Oswalt (8-8, 4.67). Oswalt is well ahead of the pace that saw him lose a career-high12 games in 2005.

The hard-throwing righthander returned from the disabled list on Monday and allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings of a 5-4 win over Cincinnati. He has been bothered by a hip injury for most of the season, one that landed him on the DL on July 11.