Johan Santana to start for New York Mets on Saturday as he recovers from sprained ankle - MLB
The New York Mets’ starter Johan Santana was immaculate while throwing for Class A Brooklyn on Sunday. That outing has followed a bullpen session on Wednesday. In light of the ease with each he completed his innings, it has been announced that Santana will
be starting against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
Santana suffered an ankle injury earlier in the season, because of which he was put on the disabled list. His absence on the rotation shortened the reliable options for the Mets when it came to the starting pitchers. The fact another hurler Dillon Gee was
injured plunged the management into a dilemma which demanded immediate actions.
To this effect, the Mets decided for Matt Harvey to make his Major League debut despite the fact that the management did not want to bring him in the season, under the ideal circumstances. In this way, they strengthened their decaying rotation.
Therefore, the declaration that Santana will pitch on Saturday will be encouraging from the point of view of improving the team’s winning percentage in the season. New York currently maintains an unimpressive position on the National League East Division
table. In order to advance to the second position, they need protracted winning streaks. For this, a solidified rotation can go a long way.
Meanwhile, Santana has a point to prove on his return. His below par starts before getting injured have affected his win-loss record in the season. Therefore, by throwing quality innings in the upcoming games, he can make up for those poor starts.
Mets’ manager Terry Collins is optimistic that Santana will throw fine innings as he steps on the mound on Saturday. However, he is conscious of the care that Santana deserves after coming back from injury.
"I'm very, very confident that Saturday night we're going to see a good outing out of Johan, because he's feeling so much better about the way his arm feels, the way his leg feels and the energy he's gotten back," Collins said. "But we can be very cautious
with him during the month of September to make sure he goes into the offseason feeling good."
Santana’s start against the Braves will be interesting to watch. Throwing against the formidable offence of Atlanta will be a challenge for Santana.
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