Santana shuts down Pirates to keep Mets on track

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johan Santana pitched a three-hit shutout to lead the New York Mets to a sixth straight victory with a 4-0 road triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Santana (11-7) struck out seven and did not walk a batter in a tidy 113-pitch effort for his eighth career complete game and second this season, giving the National League East-leading Mets 10 wins in their last 13 contests.

The shutout was Santana's first since June 19, 2007, against his current team when he played for the Minnesota Twins, and fifth of his career.

He was acquired by the Mets in the off-season and after a slow start, New York has taken control in the NL East.

"We're playing good baseball and getting good pitching," New York manager Jerry Manuel told reporters.

"We're executing, for the most part, in different facets of the game. We're doing a lot of things well right now."

Santana, the 2001 AL Cy Young Award winner, retired the first 10 batters he faced and threw 85 strikes, keeping the Pirates off balance and behind in the count at the plate for most of the game.

"I was just doing my job," Santana said. "Getting ahead of the hitters, keeping the pitch count down. I wanted to finish the game for sure."

The Mets' much-maligned bullpen got a welcome day off as well, even after New York acquired reliever Luis Ayala from the Washington Nationals before the game for a player to be named.

The Mets have the third highest bullpen ERA in the NL, with relief pitching one of the major concerns, especially in the early part of the season.

Brian Schneider homered and drove in three runs and Argenis Reyes had three hits for the Mets, who had 10 hits in total. Carlos Beltran also had a home run for New York.

Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens (2-2) was the loser, allowing four runs on nine hits over six innings with three strikeouts and a walk. Jack Wilson had two hits for the Pirates, who have lost four straight and seven of their last nine.

"He's one of the best pitchers in baseball," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said of Santana. "That's what he's capable of doing.

"It's Johan Santana. He's one of the best."

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto; Editing by John O'Brien)