NEW YORK - Why are the Mets looking so much better - five wins in a row after Wednesday night's 5-0 victory over the Giants manager Jerry Manuel says he can't take credit.
Johan Santana says he can.
“You can see the whole clubhouse and in the dugout, everybody's more comfortable,” Santana said after throwing five shutout innings for his first win since June 1. “Everybody's loose, they're having fun, and that's what this whole game is about: having fun.”
The Mets sure have had fun the last two nights, outscoring the punchless Giants, 12-0. Wednesday night Ramon Castro hit a three-run home run and the Mets' bullpen threw four perfect innings after Manuel decided not to bring Santana back after a 42-minute rain delay.
Could this apparent turnaround have happened under Willie Randolph? Maybe, maybe not. But Santana made it clear he thinks the switch to Manuel has worked.
“Not being afraid or intimidated to perform,” he said. “I think that's the whole key, for the pitching staff and everybody. I think that was a big difference. ... It seems to me like in the past there was a lot of tension about what was going to happen with this guy or the other guy.
“We were talking instead of concentrating on playing the game. It's all about playing the game and that's what he has brought to this team. Just be ourselves. Try to have fun and play the game.”
The second-place Mets and Marlins and first-place Phillies all won Wednesday, so Philadelphia remains 1 1/2 games up in the National League East.
“Everything is looking good right now,” Santana said. “We've got everything going.”
Santana (8-7, 2.84 ERA) was removed after 78 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five. Manuel just wanted to be careful with his $137.5-million ace in his final start before the All-Star break.
Santana said he wanted to pitch the sixth. He also said now he's available for bullpen work Sunday.
Santana, if he had stayed in, couldn't have done better than the men who replaced him. Aaron Heilman (two innings), Duaner Sanchez and Joe Smith pitched four innings of perfect relief: 12 up, 12 down.
The Mets had been winless in Santana's last six outings. He pitched well enough to win nearly all of them, though; he was 0-4 with a 2.48 ERA.
In fact, Santana might be an All-Star if he had gotten a little more support from his new teammates (just ask him). His 7-7 record kept him off the squad, but his 2.96 ERA going into Wednesday night was tied for fifth in the NL.
Was the losing getting to Santana? Manuel said he hadn't seen any evidence of that, and Santana has seemed quite jolly in the clubhouse recently.
“I think he has given us every opportunity to win,” he said. “I don't think we've taken advantage of it. I think if he continues to do that and we - doing what we're doing offensively - we'll take advantage of the opportunities he's giving us.”
Mets 5
Giants 0
“You can see the whole clubhouse and in the dugout, everybody's more comfortable,” Santana said after throwing five shutout innings for his first win since June 1. “Everybody's loose, they're having fun, and that's what this whole game is about: having fun.”
The Mets sure have had fun the last two nights, outscoring the punchless Giants, 12-0. Wednesday night Ramon Castro hit a three-run home run and the Mets' bullpen threw four perfect innings after Manuel decided not to bring Santana back after a 42-minute rain delay.
Could this apparent turnaround have happened under Willie Randolph? Maybe, maybe not. But Santana made it clear he thinks the switch to Manuel has worked.
“Not being afraid or intimidated to perform,” he said. “I think that's the whole key, for the pitching staff and everybody. I think that was a big difference. ... It seems to me like in the past there was a lot of tension about what was going to happen with this guy or the other guy.
“We were talking instead of concentrating on playing the game. It's all about playing the game and that's what he has brought to this team. Just be ourselves. Try to have fun and play the game.”
The second-place Mets and Marlins and first-place Phillies all won Wednesday, so Philadelphia remains 1 1/2 games up in the National League East.
“Everything is looking good right now,” Santana said. “We've got everything going.”
Santana (8-7, 2.84 ERA) was removed after 78 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five. Manuel just wanted to be careful with his $137.5-million ace in his final start before the All-Star break.
Santana said he wanted to pitch the sixth. He also said now he's available for bullpen work Sunday.
Santana, if he had stayed in, couldn't have done better than the men who replaced him. Aaron Heilman (two innings), Duaner Sanchez and Joe Smith pitched four innings of perfect relief: 12 up, 12 down.
The Mets had been winless in Santana's last six outings. He pitched well enough to win nearly all of them, though; he was 0-4 with a 2.48 ERA.
In fact, Santana might be an All-Star if he had gotten a little more support from his new teammates (just ask him). His 7-7 record kept him off the squad, but his 2.96 ERA going into Wednesday night was tied for fifth in the NL.
Was the losing getting to Santana? Manuel said he hadn't seen any evidence of that, and Santana has seemed quite jolly in the clubhouse recently.
“I think he has given us every opportunity to win,” he said. “I don't think we've taken advantage of it. I think if he continues to do that and we - doing what we're doing offensively - we'll take advantage of the opportunities he's giving us.”
Mets 5
Giants 0
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