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August 18, 2012 Mets 2012 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 119: Loss to Nationals

Nationals 6 Mets 4

Johan Santana makes Mets history.

Mets Game Notes

Johan Santana became the first pitcher in Mets history to allow 6 or more earned runs in 5 consecutive starts. All the runs came from two homeruns — one a grand slam by Michael Morse, the other a two-run blast by Bryce Harper — but it would be incorrect to say Santana “made only two mistakes.” In truth, Santana made many mistakes, got away with some, didn’t others. His change-up was working well, but that was about it. His fastball and slider/cutter was rarely hitting the intended target, and usually up in the zone. When the Nats hitters made contact — even on foul balls and outs — they made hard, solid contact. What is Santana’s problem? Seems to me to be inconsistent mechanics; often, his arm is lagging behind his body, which is why his pitches are high. Why are his mechanics inconsistent? I’m not sure. It could be a timing issue. It could be a pain issue. It could be a lack of flexibility in the shoulder. Whatever it is, something is preventing his shoulder from fully rotating at the right time.

The bright side of the game was seeing the Mets fight back with runs in the sixth and seventh. Too little, too late, but at least they didn’t mail it in. And hey, Kelly Shoppach hit his first homer as a Met.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Nationals do it again on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Jonathon Niese goes to the mound against Edwin Jackson.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Joe August 19, 2012 at 1:31 pm
    Yes, four runs against a if not the (we can debate criteria here) best team in the NL is respectable, especially after the grand slam did not lead to them to just stop scoring.

    As for the next game, maybe FF just needs to pitch in normal save situations. Took a good catch to start things off, but the inning was reassuring. FF is in no way a great closer, but given the state of the Mets team, he is adequate for their needs on a short time basis.