Those Mets

HES PROVEN SOMETHING BIG TIME

TAKAHASHI SHUTS OUT YANKEES & LEAVES BIG MARK

From the moment he decided to come to the United States last year, Hisanori Takahashi knew he could do what he did Friday night. It may have been a surprise to some, but Takahashi was always confident that he had the talent, the know-how and the guts to be a starter in Major League Baseball. He proved that Friday with six shutout innings against the Yankees, making their intimidating hitters look awkward and frustrated at times with his six pitches coming in at various speeds, angles and locations. “I think I performed well because I threw 100 pitches and did not allow a run,” he said through his interpreter, Yoichi Terada. Takahashi was given the chance to start when Jon Niese was injured Sunday in Florida. Having waited two months for the opportunity, he wasn’t going to waste it, even if the Mets wasted his fine outing by failing to give him run support. The Yankees scored twice in the seventh inning off reliever Elmer Dessens and beat the Mets, 2-1. But after the game, Mets Manager Jerry Manuel indicated that Takahashi had earned a regular spot in the rotation, and he could pitch again Wednesday against the Phillies. That would be another difficult challenge. But he will have Friday’s game to savor for a long time. “What better way to get your feet wet in your first big-league start than to face the Yankees in the subway series,” Jason Bay said. “He was unbelievable. He did a great job of changing speeds. He’s a veteran guy who knows how to pitch. That’s not an easy team to keep off the scoreboard, and he did a phenomenal job.” Because he was a starter for almost his entire 10-year career in Japan, Takahashi is more comfortable in that role. He seized the moment and used the game to showcase his ability to control a game. But he wasn’t sure about the routine for a starting pitcher in the United States, so he had Terada find out. He was told he could arrive at the park at any time, even 6:30 p.m. But he arrived at 4 p.m., did a light workout, ate a rice bowl prepared by Terada, sat in front of his locker for a while, then had a meeting with catcher Rod Barajas to go over the Yankee hitters. Once the game started, it belonged to him and the Yankees’ starter, Javier Vazquez, who was even better, allowing only one hit in six innings. Takahashi seemed to relish every aspect of the challenge and the opportunity. He bounced and skipped off the mound after the final out each inning, and made sure to great teammates who had made fine defensive plays as they walked off the field. His pitches — all six varieties — were often too, slow or had too much movement, or were in the wrong area for most of the Yankees, including Derek Jeter, who struck out twice; once looking and once swinging. Most impressive was the way Takahashi escaped two jams with runners at second and third and fewer than two outs. Another exciting escape came in the sixth inning. After getting two quick outs, Takahashi gave up a double to Alex Rodriguez, bringing Robinson Cano to the plate. Cano doubled in the fourth inning, and Takahashi could have walked him. Instead he went after him, striking Cano out on a 3-2 changeup, his 101st and final pitch. Dessens entered the game and gave up two hits and two runs, but one of them was unearned thanks to Alex Cora’s throwing error. The Mets promoted Dessens from Class AAA Buffalo because the bullpen was depleted after Thursday’s game, in which Raul Valdes pitched five innings in relief of John Maine. Manuel defended his decision to use Dessens, fresh off a plane from Buffalo, in part because Valdes and Jenrry Mejia were not available. But Manuel also said he thought that Dessens had pitched well and wasn’t to blame for the runs. “We made one mistake and it cost us,” he said, referring to the error. Dessens could stay in the big leagues for a while because the Mets are considering sending Jenrry Mejia down to stretch out as a starter at Buffalo. The move will probably be made Sunday. when the Mets hope to activate Ryota Igarashi from the disabled list. Igarashi pitched one scoreless inning for Buffalo as part of his rehabilitation assignment, allowing one walk. The Mets must decide what they will do with the day off Monday because they could skip a starter and have a temporary rotation of Mike Pelfrey, Johan Santana, R. A. Dickey and Takahashi before Niese comes off the disabled list at the end of the month.