Met Errors Waste Santana's Excellent Effort

MARLINS 2

METS 1

When Johan Santana pitches for the Mets, it usually means that the Mets have their best opportunity to come away with a victory. Well, thanks to a defensive miscue by left fielder Daniel Murphy, and a masterful performance by Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson, the Mets lost any hope of winning for Santana on this Easter Sunday.

In the second inning, with Jeremy Hermida on first, Cody Ross skied the ball deep to left. Murphy had the ball in his sights on the warning track, but instead of securing the ball with both hands, the left fielder decided to catch the ball with his glove, causing the ball to bounce out and strike the ground. Hermida raced home to score the game's first run.

With the way Johnson was pitching, it became increasingly obvious that 1-0 was about all that the ace of the Florida Marlins needed. He held the Mets hitless for the game's first five innings and never even broke a sweat under the bright Florida sunshine. The only time the Mets had a chance to get into this game was in the ninth inning, when Carlos Delgado stroked a double off the scoreboard in left center. Carlos Beltran then followed with a single to center to drive in Delgado to make it 2-1 Fish. Johnson didn't panic, however, and neither did the Marlins; Johnson was able to get Ryan Church on a fly out to left to end the game.

What has to be noted from this game is not the performance of Johnson, but the performance of Santana. Santana was brilliant this afternoon, going seven strong innings, surrendering three hits and two unearned runs, while striking out 13 batters. Santana has always pitched well against Florida, i.e. his masterpiece on the next to last day of the 2008 season when he threw a complete game shutout against Florida.

It is a shame that the Mets wasted this opportunity. With questions still lingering about the productivity of John Maine, Oliver Perez, Livan Hernandez, and Mike Pelfrey, the Mets can ill afford to waste any outing by Santana, especially one this brilliant. This one will hurt for a while. At least the Mets will open up their new stadium tomorrow night against the San Diego Padres. BOX SCORE.