New York Mets Place Johan Santana on DL

The New York Mets Johan Santana will spend at least 15 days on the DL with a sprained right ankle.

The injury was suffered July 6 when Chicago Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson stepped on Santana’s foot on a play in which Santana was attempting to cover first base.

Santana has given up 19 runs in his last three starts.

Since his historic no-hitter June 1, Santana is pitching to an ERA of 6.54 and has allowed 11 homers and 42 2/3 innings.

Santana seemed convinced that he is ok,

“I’m OK. My ankle is still recovering from that injury, but again I don’t think about it,” he said. “My shoulder’s fine. I don’t have any problems. We’ll see in the next couple days how it feels, and we’ll see what the next steps are.”

The Mets have lost seven of their last eight games. Jeremy Hefner was called up from AAA Buffalo to replace Santana on the roster.