Those Mets

METS PLAY W/O FIRE FOR FIRST TIME IN AWHILE

The left-hander Jon Niese was a wild card for the Mets entering this season. He held promise, to be sure, but he had only two major league wins to his name. But as the All-Star break nears, a start by Niese, 23, is no longer accompanied by suspense. That much was evident Wednesday night, when he struck out eight Cincinnati Reds — matching the career high he set last week — in a start that came across as almost routine. By the end of the night, though, Niese had been outdueled by Bronson Arroyo, who carried the Reds to a 3-1 win in the decisive game of the three-game series at Citi Field. The Mets, despite the defeat, are not going to complain about what they received from Niese. “We’ll take that kind of outing from a young pitcher every time,” Manager Jerry Manuel said. Niese (6-3) pitched Wednesday the way he had pitched since he came off the disabled list a month ago after injuring his hamstring: efficiently and without much drama. In seven and two-thirds innings, he gave up six hits and one walk, throwing 99 pitches. “He’s been outstanding,” the veteran infielder Alex Cora said. “He reminds me a lot of Jon Lester a few years ago in Boston — it seems like he’s getting better and better.” The start was an important one because it was Niese’s second of the season against the Reds. (He gave up four runs in a no-decision on May 5.) A young pitcher like Niese may be able to befuddle hitters the first time around, but the second time, they lose the advantage that comes with their unfamiliarity. That did not seem to be an issue Wednesday. Niese struck out three of the first four hitters he faced, and as the seventh inning began, he had allowed only one hit: a solo home run to Brandon Phillips in the third inning. At that point, the score was tied at 1-1, thanks to Angel Pagan’s home run in the first. But Niese missed a few spots in the seventh, giving up a home run to Chris Heisey and an R.B.I. double to Phillips. That was too much for the Mets to overcome against Arroyo (9-4), who located his pitches with precision and threw a sinker that moved even more than usual. He allowed one run on seven hits and no walks in eight innings, striking out three. Arroyo improved his career record against the Mets to 7-2 with a 3.31 earned run average. “Sometimes you just get comfortable with a team,” Arroyo said. “This time of year, when it starts heating up and we start getting closer to August, for some reason I always feel like I’ve got pretty good stuff.” So, too, did Niese, and that was what the Mets seemed to take away from Wednesday’s game. Niese said he thought he pitched well, an evaluation that Manuel seconded. More important, a month removed from the D.L. stint, he said he felt 100 percent recovered from the injury to his hamstring, which was operated on last year. “My main thing is to stay healthy,” he said. “If I stay healthy, I think I can help the ball club a lot, and that’s all I want to do, really.” The Mets hope so, too. Before Wednesday, Niese had won his previous five decisions, with quality starts becoming the norm. Perhaps they should not have seemed so routine; before that streak, Niese had never won consecutive decisions in his career, which before this season consisted of only eight starts. He has started 15 games this year, and Manuel expressed delight that such an inexperienced starter was able to maintain a foothold in the rotation. “He’s a very confident young pitcher,” Manuel said. “You can expect with any young pitcher you’re going to see some bumps in the road as we go, but I feel good that he’s a good piece for us going forward.” (NY Times)