After Santana's dive back to second in the fourth, Santana did not seem quite as effective, but didn't give in. In the sixth he surrendered an opposite-field home run to Nick Johnson; then gave up a walk and a single. He survived a dropped foul pop by catcher Ramon Castro off the bat of Elijah Dukes. Santana dug a little deeper and struck out the overmatched Dukes on a fastball. He followed with a strikeout of Austin Kearns on one of his classic changeups and bedeviled Jesus Flores, getting him to pop to third.

That was his 104th pitch, 93 miles per hour. He did his job and left with a 3-1 lead. Whenever Santana is on the mound, the Mets look like the kind of team that can win the NL East. The other starters have a combined ERA of 7.62 ERA. Santana's ERA is 0.70.

In his last 13 decisions dating back to last season Santana is 12-1 with a 1.05 ERA. Yes, he loves pitching in the NL.

Don't for one second think this is just about numbers. This is about having the will to win or better yet, the determination not to lose. Santana will do whatever it takes to win. He is always physically and mentally prepared, always hustling. You may beat him, but you have to outwork him, and that doesn't happen often. The Nationals, who really don't know how to win, had no chance against the lefty.

The Mets need to follow Santana's lead. If he were a position player, the Mets would have no problems. He would be out there every day leading the way, pushing and prodding his teammates to be the best they can be every single game.

Now, he can only do that now once every five days. The other four days the Mets are on their own; and it shows.