Johan, Mets take opener vs. rival Phils

Mets ace Johan Santana needed to bounce back from back-to-back losses, including a game in which he was booed off his own field. He did just that. Santana pitched a very strong seven innings, striking out ten and walking none as the Mets went on to win, 6-4.

Following Santana came Heilman, who has been going down, up, and down all month. He was horrible, giving up a pinch-hit, three-run home run to Greg Dobbs as soon as he came in. He only was able to get two outs in the eighth inning before Willie Randolph made a bullpen move for Pedro Feliciano, who was perfect. Billy Wagner came in for the eighth and closed the door – or should I say slammed the door because of his 99-mph heater – as he snatched his third save of the season.

At the plate, David Wright was a homer away from the cycle, hitting a single, two doubles, and a triple. Jose Reyes went hitless, but scored a run. If you look at the post below this one, you can read about what happened to him when he slid into second on a steal. Beltran came back following some time off due to a stiff neck, which he says is still stiff, and went hitless. Carlos Delgado had a great night at the plate even going hitless. He had a nice sac-fly later in the game and had 2 RBIs.

Brian Schneider continues to prove me wrong with his hitting ability, going 3-4 with an RBI.

The Mets have the Fox Saturday afternoon game beginning at 4 pm today.