NEW YORK—It just wasn’t meant to be for the Mets this afternoon, as they were shut down by a dominant CC Sabathia, losing 4-0.
For Johan Santana, it was one bad pitch that did him in. The only runs for either team came from one swing off the bat of Mark Teixeira, who hit a grand slam in the third, giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Mets never really had any major chances in this game against the Yankees ace. They scattered four hits in eight innings against Sabathia, although they did have the leadoff man reach in four straight innings from the fourth through the seventh.
In the fourth, after an Angel Pagan leadoff single, David Wright hit into a double play. The Mets wasted a leadoff walk in the fifth, a leadoff double in the sixth, and two guys on with no outs in the seventh.
While the Mets were once again not supporting Johan Santana, he settled down in his final three innings. He gave up hits in each inning but kept the Yankees off the board, going six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, he walked one, hit a batter, and struck out three. At the same time, this was the third straight start that Johan Santana has given up four runs, as he continues his up-and-down season.
The game was delayed for about 25 minutes due to a passing shower, and when it resumed, Mariano Rivera came in for CC Sabathia and retired the side in order.
After starting the road trip 7-0, the Mets with their top two pitchers going, lost the last two games to the Yankees, falling to 39-30 on the season. The Mets are now 0-7 in rubber-games all-time at Yankee Stadium.
They will try and get back on track starting Tuesday, when they return to Citi Field, where they are 24-10 on the season. They’ll open up a six-game home stand, three with the Tigers and three with the Twins.
Tuesday night’s match up has Jon Niese going for the Mets against Justin Verlander for the Tigers.
NL East standings (top 3 teams)
Atlanta 42-28
NY Mets 39-30 (2 1/2)
Philadelphia 35-32 (5 1/2)
Next series probable pitchers:
June 22
New York: Jon Niese (2010: 4-2, 3.64 ERA) vs. Detroit: Justin Verlander (2010: 8-4, 3.54 ERA)
June 23
New York: R.A. Dickey (2010: 5-0, 2.82 ERA) vs. Detroit: Jeremy Bonderman (2010: 3-4, 4.06 ERA)
June 24
New York: Hisanori Takahashi (2010: 6-2, 3.13 ERA) vs. Detroit: Armando Galarraga (2010: 2-1, 3.32 ERA)
Upcoming schedule:
New York Mets:
June 22-24 vs. Detroit Tigers
June 25-27 vs. Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers:
June 22-24 @ New York Mets
June 25-27 @ Atlanta Braves
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