PELFREY: OUR ONLY HOPEMETS SHUT OUT ROCKIES TO END LOSING STREAK
In the somber moments after another depressing defeat Wednesday night, David Wright stood at his locker and declared that the Mets had better start winning games soon, and it didn’t matter how it happened. The Mets had just lost their fourth consecutive game and the fifth in their last six, and a hint of early desperation was noted. Less than 24 hours later, Wright’s declaration was heeded, thanks in large part to Mike Pelfrey, the starting pitcher, whose performance led the Mets to a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Pelfrey pitched seven stellar innings and Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez each contributed a scoreless inning as the Mets shut out Colorado for the first time at Coors Field. “It starts with the starting pitching,” Wright said. “It’s a little easier when you don’t give up any runs. It gives us a lot of momentum when you have a pitcher go out there and from pitch one, you can tell he’s going to throw the way he threw the ball today.” If there was one thing the Mets desperately needed and sorely lacked over their four-game losing streak, it was a dominating pitching performance. Other problems are facing the team, but mostly the Mets found themselves sagging under the weight of early deficits thanks to ineffective starts. Pelfrey provided that missing element with 108 pitches, 70 of them strikes. Unaffected by pitching at hitter-friendly Coors Field, he scattered five hits and allowed only two runners to reach second base. Perhaps most important, he walked nobody. “That’s three pretty good outings for him if you include spring training,” Manager Jerry Manuel said. “To see him with a power sinker, four-seam fastball and then drop a curveball to start a hitter off with later in the game, that was very impressive.” Pelfrey, who has two of the Mets’ three victories, actually produced more runs than the entire Rockies lineup. In addition to his astute pitching, he also had a single and a run batted in. He scored a run, too. But it was his work on the mound that carried the day. With excellent command of his fastball, and a split-finger fastball that made the Rockies hitters flail, Pelfrey never allowed Colorado to combine more than one hit in an inning. Afterward, Pelfrey praised catcher Henry Blanco, who he said was invaluable with his pitch calling and tactical advice in the dugout while the Mets were batting. “He’s pretty good back there,” Pelfrey said. “It’s a tough game, and he makes it pretty easy. It probably wasn’t as good as he made it look.” While Pelfrey’s pitching was superb, the Mets’ play offensively was not as crisp. They scratched out five runs by hustling and taking advantage of Colorado mistakes, including a wild pitch and an error, and hard running by Angel Pagan, who beat a throw to avoid a double play, which allowed Jason Bay to score in the fourth inning. But there were also mistakes. In the third inning, Luis Castillo was caught in a rundown after he didn’t pay attention on what was supposed to have been a double steal. Jose Reyes was on second base with nobody out and signaled to Castillo that he was going to attempt to steal third, but then didn’t go because Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa was paying close attention. Castillo never looked up to see that Reyes had held at the bag, which is the duty of the trail runner, and was eventually tagged out in the rundown. Later, Reyes was caught trying to steal third. “We don’t mind the aggression,” Manuel said. “But we have to be a little smarter about it.” In the end, the missed plays did not matter, mostly because of Pelfrey, who so far this season has been the Mets’ best starter. Jeff Francoeur faced Pelfrey 19 times with the Atlanta Braves and has a good sense of what hitters must contend with. Pelfrey has an easygoing demeanor, but at 6 feet 7 inches, standing atop the pitcher’s mound, he can be an intimidating force with a baseball in his hand. That was exactly what Francoeur told Pelfrey last season after Francoeur was traded to the Mets. Francoeur reminded Pelfrey of it again during spring training. “I told him, ‘It’s hard facing you,’ ” Francoeur said. “ ‘Use that. Pitch inside and don’t let guys get comfortable.’ ” On Thursday, the Rockies never did.
In the somber moments after another depressing defeat Wednesday night, David Wright stood at his locker and declared that the Mets had better start winning games soon, and it didn’t matter how it happened. The Mets had just lost their fourth consecutive game and the fifth in their last six, and a hint of early desperation was noted. Less than 24 hours later, Wright’s declaration was heeded, thanks in large part to Mike Pelfrey, the starting pitcher, whose performance led the Mets to a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Pelfrey pitched seven stellar innings and Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez each contributed a scoreless inning as the Mets shut out Colorado for the first time at Coors Field. “It starts with the starting pitching,” Wright said. “It’s a little easier when you don’t give up any runs. It gives us a lot of momentum when you have a pitcher go out there and from pitch one, you can tell he’s going to throw the way he threw the ball today.” If there was one thing the Mets desperately needed and sorely lacked over their four-game losing streak, it was a dominating pitching performance. Other problems are facing the team, but mostly the Mets found themselves sagging under the weight of early deficits thanks to ineffective starts. Pelfrey provided that missing element with 108 pitches, 70 of them strikes. Unaffected by pitching at hitter-friendly Coors Field, he scattered five hits and allowed only two runners to reach second base. Perhaps most important, he walked nobody. “That’s three pretty good outings for him if you include spring training,” Manager Jerry Manuel said. “To see him with a power sinker, four-seam fastball and then drop a curveball to start a hitter off with later in the game, that was very impressive.” Pelfrey, who has two of the Mets’ three victories, actually produced more runs than the entire Rockies lineup. In addition to his astute pitching, he also had a single and a run batted in. He scored a run, too. But it was his work on the mound that carried the day. With excellent command of his fastball, and a split-finger fastball that made the Rockies hitters flail, Pelfrey never allowed Colorado to combine more than one hit in an inning. Afterward, Pelfrey praised catcher Henry Blanco, who he said was invaluable with his pitch calling and tactical advice in the dugout while the Mets were batting. “He’s pretty good back there,” Pelfrey said. “It’s a tough game, and he makes it pretty easy. It probably wasn’t as good as he made it look.” While Pelfrey’s pitching was superb, the Mets’ play offensively was not as crisp. They scratched out five runs by hustling and taking advantage of Colorado mistakes, including a wild pitch and an error, and hard running by Angel Pagan, who beat a throw to avoid a double play, which allowed Jason Bay to score in the fourth inning. But there were also mistakes. In the third inning, Luis Castillo was caught in a rundown after he didn’t pay attention on what was supposed to have been a double steal. Jose Reyes was on second base with nobody out and signaled to Castillo that he was going to attempt to steal third, but then didn’t go because Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa was paying close attention. Castillo never looked up to see that Reyes had held at the bag, which is the duty of the trail runner, and was eventually tagged out in the rundown. Later, Reyes was caught trying to steal third. “We don’t mind the aggression,” Manuel said. “But we have to be a little smarter about it.” In the end, the missed plays did not matter, mostly because of Pelfrey, who so far this season has been the Mets’ best starter. Jeff Francoeur faced Pelfrey 19 times with the Atlanta Braves and has a good sense of what hitters must contend with. Pelfrey has an easygoing demeanor, but at 6 feet 7 inches, standing atop the pitcher’s mound, he can be an intimidating force with a baseball in his hand. That was exactly what Francoeur told Pelfrey last season after Francoeur was traded to the Mets. Francoeur reminded Pelfrey of it again during spring training. “I told him, ‘It’s hard facing you,’ ” Francoeur said. “ ‘Use that. Pitch inside and don’t let guys get comfortable.’ ” On Thursday, the Rockies never did.
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