Johan Santana played with two-out danger in the first few frames, but finally paid for it in the bottom of the fourth, when he walked Geovany Soto after retiring the first two bats, then allowed a two-run homer to Joe Mather. This was especially costly because Cubs' starter Travis Wood took care of the Mets' bats with little trouble. Whether it was a post-Subway Series malaise or just Wood being on top of his game is hard to say, and almost beside the point.

The Mather homer was Santana's only mistake in six innings of work, but his teammates made plenty in the seventh by committing three errors, each one more humiliating than the last. When the ugly dust settled, four unearned runs had scored on exactly one hit. If there was any doubt this game was long over, it was erased at that point. A two-out solo shot by Ike Davis in the ninth erased the shutout, but that just added a modicum of dignity to the proceedings that they really didn't deserve.

Long story short: If you stayed awake for the entire game, you were conscious for nine more innings than the Mets were.

Full recap to come.

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by cstroh8; your effort in the game thread embiggens us all.