Well yesterday sure looked like a sleepwalk for the Mets--through the first seven innings.
But as they say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish the race.
The Mets, thanks to Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Fernando Tatis, and Pelfrey, Goggles and Wags, finished the race.
For the Mets it was their second scintillating comeback win of the week, and it was really a beauty at the end, on National TV, with a packed house at Shea.Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E L.A. Dodgers 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 1 N.Y. Mets « 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 x 3 8 1
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Mike Pelfrey had what I've begun to term a "5th Starter Gem". He was rocky at the start, allowing two earned runs through four, but he held his ground. He also retired the last 12 hitters he faced.
So does this mean the 5th starter role is Big Pelf's to keep? Willie didn't really say one way or the other.
"We've got a tough decision to make in a couple of days," Randolph said. "But I just think this is a great step for Mike as a young pitcher, to see how he deals with adversity and ups and downs. Today he came through with flying colors."
Pedro comes back next week, and that means the Mets will have one to many pitchers in the rotation. Pelfrey's competition, Caludio Vargas, has also pitched well in his few starts and is out of options. Pelfrey still has options.
"If they tell me, 'Go to New Orleans,' it's not the first time," Pelfrey said, downplaying the situation. "If they say, 'Hey, you go to the bullpen,' it's not the first time."
Most impressive was Pelfrey's control and use of his fastball. All in all he went 7 strong, walked only 1, struck out 6, and took the Mets deep into a ballgame. That's everything you want from your 5th starter, and more.The pitchers had a great day. After Pelfrey exited Duaner Sanchez came on to throw a hitless inning and was the recipient of the victory.
Billy Wagner came on in the 9th and simply blew the Dodgers away. Three strikeouts in a row and his 11th save of the year.
| New York Mets | ||||||||
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Mike Pelfrey | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4.98 |
| Duaner Sanchez (W,2-0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.12 |
| Billy Wagner (S,11) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.39 |
| Pitches-Strikes - Mike Pelfrey 109-69, Duaner Sanchez 11-9, Billy Wagner 15-11 | ||||||||
| Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Mike Pelfrey 7-7, Duaner Sanchez 3-0 | ||||||||
| Batters Faced - Mike Pelfrey 28, Duaner Sanchez 3, Billy Wagner 3 | ||||||||
The rally began in the bottom of the 8th. The Dodgers went to 290 lb Jonathan Broxton and if this was a heavyweight fight in the literal sense, it would have been all over....the man is bigger than a mountain. Thankfully it was a baseball game and we have David Wright and Carlos Beltran on our side.
David Wright promptly greeted Broxton with a double, his 17th f the year, which puts him on a pace for 50 doubles. David Wright is a doubles machine and could one day challenge for the all-time mark.
Carlos Beltran came to the plate and dug his heels in. Beltran has been hitting the ball all over the place with decent results. His average and OBP are up, he is walking a ton, scoring runs, and playing stellar defense. What he hasn't been doing is hitting home runs.
With one swing he changed that, and he changed the Mets fortunes on the day. He took a low slider deep over the wall to tie the game and put a jolt into the Shea faithful.
Carlos Delgado then lined a single and Damian Easley sacrificed him over to second. The Dodgers decided to intentionally walk the struggling Brian Schneider, which set up Fernando Tatis to once again play the role of hero. He didn't disappoint.
Tatis, who won Wednesday's game with a two-run double in the 12th inning against the Marlins, drilled an RBI single to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.
"It's amazing," the journeyman Tatis said. "It's good for this team. We need to win."
I am so glad this cat is on our team...he looks like Mighty Mouse and hits like Lenny Dykstra--clutch.
A nice little feature on Mets.Com about Jose Reyes and his offensive turnaround.
Beltran's Big Blast from Newsday.
A great piece (as always) in the NY Times on Fernando Tatis by Jack Curry.More on Mike Pelfrey and his fight to stay in the rotation from the Daily News.
OK beautiful people...enjoy your coffee and go spend some time with your family today.
We're heading to a wine tasting, and we'll see you back later on for the game.
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