Losing Streak Snapped Applesauce: Mets Drop Diamondbacks To End Four Game Slide, Bullpen Doesn't Blow The Game, Carrasco Is Back

Meet the Mets

On Saturday, Johan Santana picked up his first victory since 2010 in the Mets' 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Yes, pitcher wins and losses are basically meaningless. But for Santana, I would imagine this win had to have a lot of symbolic meaning. Coming off of a major shoulder surgery that could've stolen the rest of his career, Santana put in the hard work in Port St. Lucie to rehab and come back from an injury few have effectively returned from. Through six starts, not only has he just returned to the mound, he's seemingly turned the clock back a few years. Congratulations, Johan! The Mets scored all of their runs in the fourth inning, as Mike Nickeas and Andres Torres hit two run singles. After that, Santana mostly shut down the D-Backs for the balance of seven innings, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out 5 and walking one. Bobby Parnell threw an excellent eighth inning and Frank Francisco pitched a scoreless ninth to put it in the books.

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The rubber game of this series pits R.A. Dickey up against offseason acquisition Trevor Cahill. Game time between the Mets and Diamondbacks is at 1:10 PM and you can catch the action on SNY and WFAN.

D.J. Carrasco is back, everyone! Jump for joy! Is that the correct reaction? Jordany Valdespin was demoted to Buffalo in exchange. Regarding Carrasco, hopefully he'll revert to his prior form as a solid middle/long reliever. If he does, you'd have to imagine that spells the end to the Miguel Batista experiment once they decide to call up Jeremy Hefner for the fifth starter's job.

Ike Davis sat on the bench for the majority of Saturday's victory, though he got in late as a defensive replacement. How sad. Come back, 2010 Ike!

Andres Torres has hit the ball well since coming off of the DL. Torres is 7-21 on the season with a double and he's knocked in 6 runs.

Want to get to know Kirk Nieuwenhuis a little better? Steve Serby of the Post sat down with the Captain for a Q&A.

From the minors, 23-year old Sand Gnats' outfielder Travis Taijeron has been outstanding early on in Savannah, hitting .323/.441/.625 with 7 home runs. Taijeron (pronounced "Ty-Rone"), who was the Mets' 18th round draft pick last year out of Cal Poly Pomona, was excellent with Brooklyn last season and this year, has even cut his strikeout rate some.

Around the NL East

In Washington, Jayson Werth hit a three-run home run as the Nationals defeated the Phillies 7-1. Gio Gonzalez tossed seven strong innings, while Vance Worley was knocked around to the tune of five runs on eleven hits and two walks.

Mark Buehrle tossed a complete game, as the Marlins won 4-1 over the Padres. Giancarlo Stanton crushed a home run and Hanley Ramirez had three hits, propelling the Marlins to their fifth straight victory. Meanwhile, it looks like Heath Bell has been removed as the Marlins' closer for the time being.

Involved in another Coors Field slugfest, the Braves came out on top 13-9 with some help from Chipper Jones, who knocked in five runs.

Around the Majors

Albert Pujols is hitting .194/.237/.269 on May 6th. Let that sink in for a second. Pujols sat out of Saturday's game and the Angels got a big game out of Mike Trout, who hit his first home run of the year as they beat the Blue Jays 6-2. C.J. Wilson tossed 8 solid innings and has a 2.61 ERA through six starts.

Felix Hernandez tossed eight shutout innings, as the Mariners defeated the Twins 7-0. The King allowed just one hit while walking two and striking out nine.

How about the Orioles? They seem to do this early season tease every few years but in 2012, the O's currently sit at 18-9 after they defeated the Red Sox 8-2. Jason Hammel has a 2.09 ERA after this game and he's struck out a batter an inning. Pretty good for a guy most people thought was a back of the rotation innings eater at best.

Speaking of improved pitchers, former Met Chris Capuano improved to 4-0 as the Dodgers continue to roll with a 5-1 victory over the Cubs. Capuano is also striking out nearly a batter an inning and has a 2.21 ERA through his first six starts. Well, the guy is a specimen!

Former Yankee and big leaguer Chad Curtis has been suspended from a school where he was volunteering after being accused of inappropriately touching students. Curtis denies the allegations. Hmm...strange story.