His Better Half

The Twins' ace tends to bloom in late summer

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ORIGINAL LAYOUT

THE BAD NEWS forAmerican League hitters: After a 6--6 start, Twins ace and reigning AL Cy YoungAward winner Johan Santana has won four straight starts and has a 1.29 ERAsince June 19. The worse news: Santana is just getting to his favorite time ofyear. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2004, Santana, while effectivebefore the All-Star break, has been far and away the game's most dominantsecond-half pitcher. Here's a breakdown of Santana's second-half performance inseveral major pitching categories (as well as where he ranks in the firsthalf).

[The followingdescriptive text appears within a diagram]

Second-half pitching Leaders, 2004-07
SANTANA: 32 (First-Half Rank: T9)

ROY OSWALT: 29

JAKE WESTBROOK:25

WinningPercentage*

SANTANA: .914(First-Half Rank: T29)

CHRIS CARPENTER:.786

OSWALT: .744

Opponents' BattingAverage†

SANTANA: .186(First-Half Rank: 7)

ROGER CLEMENS:.216

RANDY JOHNSON:.219

CARLOS ZAMBRANO:.219

ERA†

SANTANA: 1.78(First-Half Rank: T16)

CLEMENS: 2.69

JAKE PEAVY:2.79

*minimum 20decisions

†minimum 250innings pitched

PHOTO

HEINZ KLUETMEIR (SANTANA)

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