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This Subway Was A Ryan Express

Warning to Johan Santana:

Strike out 11 and walk 6 too many times and you'll wind up making history for someone else.

Only one other pitcher has done what Santana did in Wednesday's win...strike out at least 11 and walk at least 6. That would be Nolan Ryan.

Nolan Ryan didn't just do it once. He did it three times (without the benefit of replay)as a Met and than 34 more times after his Mets career ended.

A quick summary of the three Mets instances, with mucho assistance from New York Times game stories.

June 18, 1968 vs Astros, 3-2 loss (12 K, 7 BB)
Jimmy Wynn's 7th-inning homer snapped a 2-2 tie in Game 1 of this doubleheader, the first in the managerial tenure of Astros skipper Harry Walker. Ryan pitched a complete game, one in which strikeouts were contagious. Astros starter Denny Lemaster whiffed 10 Mets. Ryan's 7 walks tied the Met record at the time.

May 30, 1970 vs Astros, 4-3 win (11 K, 6 BB)
The Mets treated the Helmet Day crowd to a walk-up win, scoring three times in the home eighth to bail Ryan out. All of Ryan's strikeouts came in the first five innings. He tired in the final three, walking four and allowing a pair of runs to put him in a 3-1 hole. The winning rally was keyed by a tying triple by Cleon Jones and a go-ahead squeeze bunt by Ken Boswell with two outs. The win snapped the Mets six-game losing streak against Astros starter Larry Dierker.

April 18, 1970 vs Phillies, 7-0 win (15 K, 6 BB)
Ryan allowed only one hit in this one, a leadoff single to Denny Doyle in the first inning, and though he walked six, none came in the last four innings. Ryan had a shot at the all-time strikeout record with 14 through six innings, but got only one of the last nine outs via strikeout. Instead he settled for tying the Mets team record at the time.

True Met Express Fans Know...The Mets are 10-2 all-time in home games, lasting 9 innings or fewer, in which their pitchers strike out at least 15. One of the two losses was to the Expos in 1990.

Comments

Ceetar said…
The difference of course is pitch count. I've heard Nolan Ryan say he wouldn't make the majors today because of it, and has 'joked' about getting rid of it altogether in the Rangers organization.

Actually, I'm kinda surprised Oliver Perez has never done this.
11:23 AM
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