BEN THERE, DONE THAT! Johan Santana yesterday was outdueled by Braves hurler Ben Sheets (inset), who was making his first start in the majors since 2010, during the Mets 6-1 loss. Sheets pitched six shutout innings, while Santana allowed six runs over five. (Getty Imags (2))
ATLANTA — When does the All-Star break finish for the Mets?
Ben Sheets, change the sheets, the sheet is about to hit the fan. However you want to view it, the Mets’ season has clearly reached another critical juncture with yesterday’s 6-1 loss at Turner Field that completed a Braves three-game sweep.
“This is not the end of the world,” Johan Santana said after the Mets lost for the fifth time in six games and fell 6 1/2 games behind the Nationals in the NL East. “We’ve got to continue playing and hoping at some point we rebound back and win a couple of series and get back to where we used to be.”
Sheets, in his first major league start since July 19, 2010, allowed two hits over six shutout innings, but that was only part of the Mets’ problem.
Santana (6-6) lasted only five innings and allowed six earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks for his second straight bomb. Nine days earlier against the Cubs he allowed three homers and seven earned runs over 4 2/3 innings.
It all crumbled for Santana in the fifth yesterday. After Michael Bourn’s RBI double gave the Braves a 1-0 lead, pitching coach Dan Warthen was ejected for giving plate umpire C.B. Bucknor an earful during a mound visit. Terry Collins then interceded and managed to stay in the game, a day after he was ejected for arguing a call.
Warthen said the “discrepancies” in strike zones was his biggest beef.
“I thought it was a much wider strike zone for Mr. Sheets,” Warthen said. “I thought Santana made some good pitches both on [Paul] Janish and Bourn where they were strikes for the other team and not for us.”
Catcher Josh Thole said Santana threw a backdoor slider to Janish that should have been strike three — the Braves shortstop ultimately walked — and a backdoor sinker that should have been strike three to Bourn before he doubled.
“It changed the course of the game,” Thole said. “We’ve got to lock it in. It goes both ways. I think the guy behind the plate has to do the same.”
The Mets’ anger with Bucknor began Saturday, when he blew a call at first base, calling out Jordany Valdespin on an infield grounder.
After yesterday’s argument ended, the Braves broke the game open with a sacrifice fly and three straight hits, including Freddie Freeman’s three-run homer that put the Mets in a 6-0 hole. As Santana left the field following the final out, he complained to Bucknor, but the umpire signaled for him to stop.
“It’s tough when you have a game like this when you know one pitch can be the difference in the game,” Santana said. “But I didn’t question anything. I was doing my job and it was too bad a couple of pitches changed the whole ballgame.”
The Mets (46-43) fell to three games above .500. It is the fifth time since May 24 they have fallen to that level. In each of the previous four instances, they have rallied with winning streaks of at least three games. An important three-game series in Washington beginning tomorrow night awaits the Mets.
Collins said there is no reason to give his team a pep talk.
“They were told before this series started where they were,” Collins said. “They are a little down in the dumps at the moment and you can hardly blame them, so we’ve got to start grinding it out in Washington.”