Santana Shuts Down Braves, Mets Win Opener

Johan Santana returned to the starting rotation for the first time in 570 days, helping the New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 as the Mets won their 2012 regular season and home opener at the redesigned Citi Field.

Santana's last outing also came against the Braves, on September 2, 2010, when he injured his pectoral muscle which ultimately required surgery to repair.

On Thursday, he threw five innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out five, but left the game in a scoreless tie. Reliever Ramon Ramirez (1-0) picked up the victory in his 1.1 innings of work.

Third baseman David Wright was 2 for 3 on the day including the game's only RBI, a 6th inning single to drive-in Andres Torres.

The Mets are off on Friday but host the Braves again on Saturday afternoon at 1:10.

Prior to Thursday's opener, the Mets honored long time catcher Gary Carter, who lost his battle with brain cancer earlier this year, with a memorial on the left-center field wall.