Johan Santana came to Flushing exactly for games like Tuesday's.
With the Mets on a three-game losing streak and with their wild-card lead down to a game over the Brewers, Santana tossed a career-high 125 pitches while limiting the Cubs to two runs over eight innings. The Mets beat Chicago at Shea Stadium to suspend chatter about a potential repeat of their historic 2007 collapse, when they squandered a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining. With Milwaukee's win against Pittsburgh, the Mets retained a one-game wild-card lead.
A two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Twins, Santana came via trade last winter from Minnesota and signed a six-year, $137.5 million contract extension. The Mets have now won nine of his past 10 starts. Santana notched his 15th victory, marking the fifth straight season he's reached that plateau.
"That's what I'm here for. That's what I was looking for," Santana said. "We have gone through a lot of things throughout the season. A lot of people have counted us out. This is what you live for. We're in a pennant race, and that's what this game is all about. A lot of people thought that early in the year we were out. We're not."
Said interim manager Jerry Manuel: "I'd say in the second half every big game that we needed when Johan's turn was due, he stepped up. He stepped up big tonight."
METS 6, CUBS 2: Jose Reyes' bases-loaded triple keyed a four-run sixth as the Mets snapped a three-game losing streak. The Mets moved back within 1 1/2 games of first-place Philadelphia in the NL East.
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