If you thought last night's pitching matchup was something, get a load of this one.
Tonight, in the rubber game of the Subway Series, it'll be a battle of left-handed aces. Two guys that have been paid over $150 million to lead their respective starting rotations.
For the Mets, that man is Johan Santana. Coming off of a game in which the Mets lost, to no fault of Santana, he'll be trying to pitch the Mets to a series win. That would be a feat in itself, considering the Mets lost against Javier Vazquez and had the hard task of beating the top two Yankees pitchers.
They beat one of them last night, as Phil Hughes faltered for the second time in a row. Tonight, they'll have to beat CC Sabathia. Just like Santana, on the same day—May 18—Sabathia's Yankees lost to no fault of himself.
While both frontline starters will be going at it, both offenses may be in for long nights. The Yankees haven't been clutch in the first two games. They had chances to break the first game open and last night, they couldn't get the big hit to cause damage.
The Mets offense got a big boost for a rare time in last night's win. Jason Bay got four hits (he's five for his last five), and David Wright drove in a couple of runs on base hits against Phil Hughes. Angel Pagan, who's been a pleasant surprise, got three hits, including two doubles, and played a part in the victory.
The last time Johan Santana was called upon in a big Sunday night game, he didn't fair well at all. In fact, it was the worst start of his career against the Phillies.
The Mets right now trail both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card race by 4 1/2 games. They have a huge opportunity to gain ground and at the same time, calm things down a little bit as we inch closer to Memorial Day.
Santana will have to step it up and hope that his offense and defense doesn't let him down like in Atlanta last Tuesday. That was the game the Mets lost on David Wright's throwing error.
If the Mets do get a late lead, it will be interesting to see how Francisco Rodriguez does. He had to come on last night for a five out save, but the Mets will have an off-day on Monday.
Last season, Santana got roughed up against the Yankees, and at that point, pitched the worst game of his career. In only three innings, he gave up nine runs on nine hits, as the Mets lost 15-0. They'll certainly hope for a better result this time around.
Johan Santana vs. New York Yankees (career)
4-2, 4.40 ERA, 57.1 IP, 57 hits, 22 BB, 51 SO
CC Sabathia vs. New York Mets (career)
2-0, 1.20 ERA, 15 IP, 9 hits, 1 BB, 11 SO
2010 season series (New York Mets vs. New York Yankees)
May 21: New York Yankees 2, New York Mets 1
May 22: New York Mets 5, New York Yankees 3
Series tied 1-1
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