Megdal: Johan Santana returns to ace form, to Terry Collins’ relief

Santana and pitching coach Dan Warthen had sought to make some adjustments, and Santana even went back and watched his no-hit start in search of answers.

“He had much better stuff today,” Collins told the assembled reporters after the game Tuesday night. “He had life to his fastball, his breaking ball had much better depth to it. Changeup’s always been a good pitch, but much better command. I thought what they did in their session the other day helped him out.”

Santana smiled self-consciously when asked about his video session with the no-hitter. A pitcher thrives on routine, but nothing has been quite so routine as Santana standing in front of his locker, a blue and orange number eight emblazoned on his shirt front in honor of Gary Carter, reassuring reporters that he feels just fine.

“I just tried to stay with my mechanics,” Santana said, implicitly denying that watching the no-hitter had an emotional component to it. “One of the things I try to do, when I’m pitching, is to establish my fastball inside. That’s what I was trying to do tonight. When I do that, my changeup, everything’s better.”

Thanks to Doug.