weekend, I went to Citi Field and saw Johan Santana pitch a masterpiece. Santana dominated the San Diego Padres over nine innings. The Mets won 9-0 and Santana had his first shutout since 2010. The lefty struck out eight batters, walked none and threw 74 of his 96 total pitches for strikes. What made his performance that day even more impressive was the fact that Santana is still coming back from major shoulder surgery after missing all of the 2011 season.

Tuning in to the Mets’ game last night, it appeared early on that Santana did not have his best stuff. He walked four batters over the first five innings and ran up his pitch count. He did, however, keep a potent Cardinals lineup from reaching base on a hit.

From the sixth inning on, the warrior in Santana came out. His poise noticeably increased and his stuff looked better than it had in the earlier innings. When Terry Collins came out to the mound in the eighth with Santana’s pitch ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - MLB By Jocelyn Taub