Johan Santana was hit hard in his last start, allowing five runs and 12 hits in 6.2 innings in a loss at Houston. His last bad outing prior to that one occurred on June 30 when he was rocked for nine hits and six runs in six innings in a loss at Milwaukee. In between, he went 2-1 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts, scattering 13 hits over 21 innings.Tonight Santana looks to rebound against a Colorado club the Mets have owned in New York, where they've won 20 of the last 22 meetings, including five in a row. And Santana has pitched his best at Citi Field this season, going 7-2 with a 1.86 ERA in 10 starts compared to a 4-6 mark and 4.48 ERA in the same number of road outings.Colorado's Jason Hammel is the opposite of Santana; the righthander has performed much better on the road (4-2 with a 2.08 ERA) than at home (1-3 with a 7.23 ERA), but no matter the location he's struggled of late, going 0-2 with a 4.45 ERA in his last five starts. In four of those outings, the Rockies have provided him with two or fewer runs of support.The Mets enter having won four in a row. More importantly, their injury-wrecked offense has flourished during the stretch, putting 29 runs on the board.Colorado is 5-9 on the road this year versus lefthanders. Considering Santana's home domination, and my abundant bankroll, I'm in the position of paying the elevated price to back to Mets in this spot. Although the run line option is tempting, especially at huge plus money, considering New York's offensive woes all season, the wiser move - again considering my winning streak and bankroll - is laying the price with Santana on the moneyline
Al DeMarco 7/30
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