Johan Santana impresses with a stunning show on his return to Major League - MLB Update
Johan Santana was amazing in New York Mets’ opener against Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Throwing 84 pitches and playing a major role in shutting out the Braves, he eliminated concerns management had with his injury prone body.
For an ace to turn out as good as he is after recovering from shoulder injury is something the club will be extremely happy about.
He is one of those players Mets will surely want to continue with the momentum. Getting first six innings thrown from the starter is one of the biggest advantages a team can have. Although Santana did not pitch six innings, with few more games he will start
throwing more than 90 pitches.
“Finally I had an opportunity to go out there in a game that counts and definitely get it out of the way,” Santana said. “It was real important, and it was good.”
Thus one can believe that Santana will come out with his best in the upcoming games.
Best of Santana in the game turned on when he intelligently escaped the jam with two base-runners occupying the bases and ready to record a run.
In this respect his contribution was even more significant because if the one score had been added by the Braves, the game will very well be a tie under the fact that Mets had already just one run lead.
Exactly where manager Terry Collins wanted, he kept the pitches down and not allowed hitters to find room for hitting distance.
“He is by far one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever been around,” Collins said. “He did exactly what we thought he would do. I knew he would throw the ball over the plate, but he just doesn’t give in to anybody. It’s amazing.”
Troubled by many issues, Mets have gained a much needed boost at the start of the season, both with the win and with their ace returning to form. At-least they have left something for fans to cheer about.
Sellout stadium numbering 42,080 experienced in the game spells positives for the Mets. As they were not expecting huge crowd after the poor Spring Training performance, they will like to see fans keep coming in the matches ahead. Couple of more wins by
them will go on to ensure this.
Santana will look to build on from there onward in the next games. As big a player as he is, if he can sustain himself through the regular season, he will take Mets to some respectable position in the season.
Tags: