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El Presidente, El Perfecto

At the rate Omir (President) Santos is going, he's going to be our Fistbumps Player of the Year, hands down. Let's just say that the approval rating for the current catching administration is favorable.

We'll give the fistbumps for Saturday (awarded after walk-off wins, walk-up wins, and road wins in the 9th inning or later) to Santos, Ramon Martinez, and Mike Pelfrey for their supporting the cause.

Honorary fistbumps as well to the fellow who sat next to me at Fenway. When discussing why Martinez was in the on-deck circle (instead of Fernando Tatis) as Santos came to the plate, this gentleman said "He's there for when this guy (ie: Santos) puts them ahead."

Nice prognostication. Nice victory.
(I should also note that earlier in the afternoon, I said of Martinez: "Get him the (Glavine) off the field," using an inappropriate word in place of the pitcher's name.)

* This was the 136th time that the Mets won a road game by scoring the go-ahead run(s) in the 9th inning, the third time it's happened within the first nine games of this road trip. The three such wins this season matches the total of 9th inning road wins by the Mets in all of 2008.

* It's the second time in the last three years that the Mets had three 9th inning road wins in May. They also did so in 2007.

*It's the second time the Mets got a ninth inning road win on a May 23. They also did so in 2002, beating the Phillies, 1-0 on Mark Johnson's RBI double.

May 23 is also the anniversary of two walk-off wins. In 1999, the Mets scored 5 in the 9th to beat Curt Schilling, winning on John Olerud's two-run single. In 2006, they beat the Phillies in 16 innings on Carlos Beltran's walk-off home run (The Phillies walk-off history on May 23 is rather rough).

* Santos was the first catcher to hit a HR to give the Mets a 9th inning road win since Paul Lo Duca homered in the 9th inning to beat the Brewers, 9-8, on May 13, 2006.

* The Mets are now 14-10 when Santos plays, not bad for a guy who played in 11 games, all losses, for the Orioles last season.

* David Wright's streak of reaching base safely at least twice ended at 11 games, one shy of John Stearns club record, set in 1977.

True Metsidents know...The last time a Red Sox pitcher blew a save against the Mets in the 9th inning or later AND his team lost the game was when Bob Stanley recorded a blown save in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

Two other Red Sox relievers have blown saves against the Mets since then, but one was in the 8th inning (Derek Lowe, July 14, 2000), and the other came in a game the Red Sox won (Tom Gordon, June 11, 1999).

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