Final
Mets-Giants Preview
May 16, 2009 - 7:14 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS WriterNew York (20-15) at San Francisco (18-17), 4:10 p.m. EDT
Randy Johnson hopes to move a step closer to a milestone that may not be seen again for a very long time. To get there, however, he'll have to beat one of the best pitchers in the game.
Johnson seeks his 299th victory Saturday as the San Francisco Giants try to cool of the surging New York Mets and red-hot Johan Santana.
Johnson (3-3, 5.89 ERA) figures to become the 24th member of the 300-win club at some point this season, and with the winningest active pitcher behind him only at 249 wins (Jamie Moyer), he could be the last 300-game winner for quite a while.
The left-hander earned his 298th win on Monday despite giving up four runs and eight hits, including three homers, with nine strikeouts over five innings of an 11-7 victory over Washington.
"It was an all-or-nothing kind of night," said Johnson, whose 10 homers allowed is among the most in the majors. "You're going to make mistakes, but it just seems like they're magnified now. I don't get away with as many things as I used to."
Johnson is 0-3 with a 6.89 ERA in his last five starts against the Mets, but he hasn't faced them since a loss with Arizona on May 4, 2007.
Standing in Johnson's way are Santana (4-2, 0.78) and the NL East-leading Mets (20-15), winners of 10 of 12.
Santana's record isn't all that impressive but he has received minimal run support from his teammates. The Mets have scored only 11 total runs in their ace's seven starts for an average of 2.15 runs per game - the third-lowest total of any qualifying starter in the majors.
The left-hander was a victim of the same problem last season, as the Mets averaged 2.2 runs in his 12 starts that resulted in losses for the club. Santana has not allowed an earned run in his two losses this season.
"It's crazy that it happened twice already," Santana said. "There's not many things I can do."
The two-time Cy Young winner was outstanding again Monday, yielding two unearned runs and seven hits while striking out six over 6 1-3 innings of an 8-3 loss to Atlanta.
"Hopefully, there will come a point where we will pick him up," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "I think it's just coincidence, I really do. He's the type of guy that gets everybody up before his game. He might be getting 'em too geeked - that might be it. I think it'll turn around."
Santana won his only start against the Giants last season, allowing three hits with five strikeouts in five innings of a 5-0 victory.
New York's offense has been hot lately, batting .328 with 22 runs over the last three games. The Mets are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the best hitting team in baseball at .291.
The Mets collected 14 hits Friday night to rally from a four-run, seventh-inning deficit for an 8-6 win over San Francisco (18-17). The Mets stole four bases, a night after setting a franchise record with seven steals in a 7-4 win to open this four-game series.
David Wright has been a big part of that success, getting three hits in each game while totaling six RBIs - three on a game-tying double Friday - and five stolen bases. The third baseman is 14 for 29 (.483) with nine RBIs over the last seven games.
New York has won seven in a row over the Giants, one shy of its team record in the all-time series set during the 1990 and '91 seasons.
- NL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY METS 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 9 16 2
SAN FRANCISCO 0 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 6 12 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: NYM - JOHAN SANTANA, ROBERT PARNELL (8TH), J.J. PUTZ (9TH) AND RAMON
CASTRO
SFO - RANDY JOHNSON, JUSTIN MILLER (5TH), MERKIN VALDEZ
(6TH), PAT MISCH (7TH), BRANDON
May 16 7:21 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY RAMON CASTRO SCORED GARY SHEFFIELD.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, R CASTRO ON FIRST, D WRIGHT ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 9
SAN FRANCISCO 6 TOP, 9TH
DUE UP FOR NY METS: R CHURCH (.268, 1-FOR-4)
Mets 9, Giants 6 Top 9, 0 OutsMay 16 7:10 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY FERNANDO TATIS SCORED CARLOS BELTRAN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D WRIGHT ON FIRST, G SHEFFIELD ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 8
SAN FRANCISCO 6 TOP, 9TH
DUE UP FOR NY METS: R CASTRO (.267, 1-FOR-4, RBI)
Mets 8, Giants 6 Top 9, 0 OutsMay 16 7:06 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY RANDY WINN SCORED FRED LEWIS.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R WINN ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 7
SAN FRANCISCO 6 BOTTOM, 7TH
DUE UP FOR SAN FRANCISCO: J URIBE (.269, 0-FOR-3)
Mets 7, Giants 6 Bot 7, 0 OutsMay 16 6:32 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY RICH AURILIA SCORED TRAVIS ISHIKAWA.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, R AURILIA ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 7
SAN FRANCISCO 5 BOTTOM, 6TH
DUE UP FOR SAN FRANCISCO: E BURRISS (.262, 1-FOR-3)
Mets 7, Giants 5 Bot 6, 0 OutsMay 16 6:16 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY AARON ROWAND (3) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN THE
6TH OFF JOHAN SANTANA.
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 7, SAN FRANCISCO 4
DUE UP FOR SAN FRANCISCO: T ISHIKAWA (.226, 0-FOR-2)
Mets 7, Giants 4 Bot 6, 0 OutsMay 16 6:15 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY RAMON CASTRO SCORED DAVID WRIGHT.
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, R CASTRO ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 7
SAN FRANCISCO 3 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR NY METS: R CHURCH (.264, 0-FOR-2)
Mets 7, Giants 3 Top 5, 0 OutsMay 16 5:42 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY DAVID WRIGHT SCORED CARLOS BELTRAN AND GARY
SHEFFIELD.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, D WRIGHT ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 6
SAN FRANCISCO 3 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR NY METS: F TATIS (.328, 0-FOR-2)
Mets 6, Giants 3 Top 5, 0 OutsMay 16 5:35 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY CARLOS BELTRAN SCORED ALEX CORA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C BELTRAN ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 4
SAN FRANCISCO 3 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR NY METS: G SHEFFIELD (.262, 2-FOR-2)
Mets 4, Giants 3 Top 5, 0 OutsMay 16 5:31 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY AARON ROWAND SCORED BENGIE MOLINA AND RANDY WINN.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, A ROWAND ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 3
SAN FRANCISCO 3 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR SAN FRANCISCO: T ISHIKAWA (.229, 0-FOR-1)
Mets 3, Giants 3 Bot 4, 0 OutsMay 16 5:23 PM - NL
AT SAN FRANCISCO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY PABLO SANDOVAL SCORED FRED LEWIS.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, 0 LEFT ON, 3 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 3
SAN FRANCISCO 1 END BOTTOM, 3RD
Mets 3, Giants 1 Bot 3, 0 OutsMay 16 5:10 PM - NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY METS 3 3 4 0
SAN FRANCISCO 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: NYM - JOHAN SANTANA
SFO - RANDY JOHNSON
DUE UP FOR SAN FRANCISCO: E BURRISS (.260, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
F LEWIS (.298, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
P SANDOVAL (.303, 3 HR,
Mets 3, Giants 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsMay 16 4:26 PM
Related News
- Mets Ace Kodai Senga Sidelined with Shoulder Strain Feb 22
- Mets Morning News for December 26, 2023 Dec 26
- From Complex To Queens, Episode 256: Merry Metsmas 2023 Dec 25
- Mets Morning News for December 25, 2023 Dec 25
- Monday BP: Merry Christmas Dec 25
- Mets sign RHP Chad Smith to minor league deal Dec 24
- Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series: Blue, not Blue and Orange, Christmas Dec 24
- Mets Morning News for December 24, 2023 Dec 24
- The ‘help, everything is awful the Dodgers have ruined everything we love but hey I guess it’s the holidays maybe that will make us feel better probably not though’ mailbag Dec 23
- Mets Morning News for December 23, 2023 Dec 23
- 2024 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List No. 4 Dec 22
- Mets Morning News for December 22, 2023 Dec 22