It has been an eerie day in baseball indeed, especially in New York, where the Yankees absolutely embarrassed the Mets in the conclusion to their Subway Series. Johan Santana, who up until this start has been his typical dominant self, gave up nine runs in less than four innings of work.
The Yankees had put up four runs to take an early lead against Santana in the second inning, and the left-hander’s luck only soured in the fourth. Hideki Matsui belted a two-run homer and Derek Jeter chased Santana with a single past diving shortstop Alex Cora — one of his four hits — to score the seventh run. Catcher Francisco Cervelli collected three hits, pushing his average above .300.
Johnny Damon greeted reliever Brian Stokes with an RBI double off the left-field wall, and after an Alex Rodriguez double play brought home the ninth run, Robinson Cano put an exclamation point on the pounding with a two-run homer before Melky Cabrera completed the frame with a two-run double.
The 15 runs were a season high for the Yankees and put A.J. Burnett in line for a breezy victory, as the right-hander won for the third time in four starts, striking out eight and limiting the Mets to four hits and four walks in seven innings.
Burnett appeared poised to give a 4-0 lead back, walking two and allowing a hit to the bottom of the order in the third inning. But Burnett struck out both Cora and Fernando Martinez swinging before getting Carlos Beltran to line to shortstop, stranding the bases loaded.
Except for this blip, Santana is off to another Cy Young-caliber season. Prior to this start, Santana boasted an 8-3 record with a 2.39 ERA, 91 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.13. Every pitcher gets rocked every now and then, and if it’s going to happen, it might as well be against the Yankees who have a devastating lineup top to bottom.
The Mets who seem as lost as ever, are another story. When we look at Carlos Beltran’s comments, Luis Castillo’s error, and their daily inconsistency, this doesn’t look like the team many expected would lead the NL East for the majority of the season.
