The Nationals and Mets play a rubber game this afternoon as the Mets send out their ace to get the job done. The Mets have lost all three games this season by a combined margin of 4 runs (while they have won two games with a combined score of 15-3). Anyway, the Mets will get to face a familiar pitcher from last season, Livan Hernandez, as he makes his first start of the season.
In his last outing, Santana was Santana. He pitched 6.0 innings, allowed one run and two walks while striking out five in his winning effort. Last season he was 2-0 in as many games against the Nationals over 12.0 innings with a 3.00 ERA, 7 BB and 21 K's. Over the years, the Nationals have been able to compile these numbers against Santana:
Zimmerman 5-16, HR
Willingham 3-11, 2B, 3B
Harris 1-9, 2B
Dunn 4-7, 2 HR
Part of Santana's success in his last outing was his ability to keep the ball in the park. If he can do that again, he will be fine tomorrow. The Nationals (believe it or not) have a few players that can really hurt if the ball is left up in the zone or hanging. As long as he is himself and makes his pitches, he will be fine.
The Mets will face Livan Hernandez, who split his time last season with us and the Nationals. He ended with a 9-12 record, 5.44 ERA and 183.2 innings pitched. In his career, he has a 11-13 record, 4.58 ERA and 206.1 innings logged against the New York Mets. Now since Hernandez has been in the league since 1996, there are plenty of Mets who have seen him often:
Cora 10-42, 2 2B
Reyes 12-44, 2B, 2 HR
Wright 12-34, 3 2B, 4 HR
Blanco 8-21, 3 2B
Tatis 9-20, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR
Francoeur 5-13, 2 2B, HR
In terms of offense, the Mets just have to put yesterday behind them and channel Friday night. On Friday, they were patient, hit a few solo bombs and got to the bullpen pretty quickly. Once they got to the pen, they just kept getting on base, and scoring runs. It's that type of momentum the Mets need to create in the ball game. Lets Go Mets!
