Johan Santana advised Francisco Rodriguez about the Mets when he was a free agent a few years ago, and he fully supports the closer now. Yesterday afternoon at Citi Field, though, Santana had his eyes on the Rockies.
He had his eyes on excellence.
“I’m here to play baseball,” Santana said. “And to pitch and go out on the field and perform. I’m not here to talk about what’s going on off the field or [from] this clubhouse.”
Santana said he “could just focus on the game,” and he did that just fine. On the mound some 12 hours after K-Rod was arrested and charged with assault Wednesday night, Santana was magnificent in the Mets’ 4-0 shutout of the Rockies. He fired a complete-game masterpiece, blanking Colorado on four hits and two walks while striking out 10.
Santana’s complete game was much-needed, especially since the Mets didn’t have Rodriguez available after he was put on the restricted list and appeared in court. But Santana didn’t need any reliever. He needed just 115 pitches to go the distance.
“Right before the game, I told Jerry [Manuel] that I was ready for 10 innings,” Santana said. “That was my mindset. I was focused to help this ballclub and go deeper in the game, especially after what happened [Wednesday] night on the field.”
The Mets lost Wednesday night when Manny Acosta served up Melvin Mora’s eighth-inning grand slam.
Santana’s effort gave the Mets their first series victory since July 27-29 against the Cardinals.
“I think [yesterday] was an incentive for [Santana] to say, ‘You know what, I’ve got to go outside and do it myself,’ ” Carlos Beltran said. “And he did it. He was great.”
Santana’s four hits allowed were all singles. He ended the game with a double play, pumping his fist afterward. He struck out the side in the first inning, retired 10 in a row from the third into the sixth.
He has reeled off 16 1/3 straight shutout innings and is 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA in his last nine starts.
The Mets, who’d put up only three runs combined in their previous two games, took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single from Angel Pagan and a sac fly from Beltran, who burst from his 1-for-20 slump with a 3-for-3 day. They put up two more in the seventh, with Santana delivering a single and scoring a run.
David Wright — getting the day off — watched Santana from the bench.
“Same old, same old. It’s Johan Santana,” Wright said. “You don’t expect anything less when he takes the mound.”
mark.hale@nypost.com