Santana Outduels Carpenter In A Match Up Of Cy Young Winners

Gambling News - June 26, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

Thursday night, a pair of aces, Johan Santana and Chris Carpenter, took to the mound, from the new Citi Field in New York, New York. In what was sure to be a pitcher's duel, the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets, lived up to it's billing, as the Mets defeated the Cardinals by a score of 3-2.

Santana, the winning pitcher, struggled coming out of the gate. Santana was unable to find his command early, which cost the Mets a run, in the top of the first. Santana's struggles would continue, as he ran the count to 3-0, on several of the first batters he face. Unfortunately for the St. Louis Cardinals, they were unable to take advantage, when the opportunity presented itself. Santana pitched 7 innings, gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 3, all while giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, which raised his record to 9 wins and 5 losses.

For the Cardinals, Chris Carpenter took the mound, after coming off an impressive start, last week against the Kansas City Royals. Carpenter settled in early, and got 1 run, in the top of the first, to give him the lead, before taking to the field, in the first inning. Carpenter would be solid, through the first three innings, however, in the bottom of the fourth, the Mets came back, and scored 3 runs, which would end up being enough to win the game. Just that one inning, was all it took for Chris Carpenter to pick up his second loss of the season, dropping his record to a total of 5-2. Carpenter pitched 7 innings, while allowing just 4 hits, but also while giving up 3 earned runs. Carpenter would strike out 5, while not allowing any walks. This loss moves Carpenter's ERA up to 1.78.

When it came time to close things out, the Mets turned to closer Francisco Rodriguez, affectionately known as "K-Rod", to come in a lock things down. Rodriguez was successful, as he came in, got the outs he needed, and moved his save total up to 20.

The game on Thursday night signified the end of the four game set, between these two teams. The Mets got the better of this series, taking 3 of 4 from the Cardinals. Tonight, the Cardinals begin a series with the Minnesota Twins, and the Mets take on the hated New York Yankees, in inter-league play.