Pelfrey, Mets are second rate after loss to Marlins

Tag : Marker Tie

MIAMI - Mike Pelfrey's winning streak is gone. So, too, is theMets' brief run atop the NL East.
Pelfrey crumbled in a five-run fourth inning and the Mets sufferedtheir lone series loss in July with a 7-5 rubber-game defeatagainst the Marlins Wednesday night at Dolphin Stadium.
As reports swirled regarding Manny Ramirez's potential relocationto South Florida, the tight NL East race had another shakeup.Philadelphia, which beat Washington, now leads the division by ahalf-game over the Mets and 1-1/2 games over the Marlins.
"You know what? I feel good about the way we're playing," JerryManuel said. "We didn't win this series. We won a lot of series. Wehadn't lost a series in a long time."
Damion Easley belted a pinch-hit three-run homer with two out inthe seventh to pull the Mets within 5-4 and chase Marlins starterJosh Johnson, but the comeback bid fell short. Joe Smithsurrendered a two-run homer in the eighth to Dan Uggla that gaveFlorida a three-run cushion. The Mets scored a run in the ninth onRamon Castro's pinch-hit RBI single, but left the tying runs onbase when Jose Reyes flied out.
"We needed a clean inning very badly there," Manuel said aboutSmith's frame. "We felt very good that we could get a run orwhatever....That one hurt, but we still put the tying run on base,even three runs down. That's pretty good. You've got to feel goodabout your team when they do that."
Smith has allowed five runs in 1-2/3 innings over his past threeappearances, but insisted he isn't hitting a wall as he did lastyear, in his first full pro season.
"No. I just stunk tonight," Smith said.
Pelfrey (9-7) lasted just four innings, matching his shortestoutings this season, which came in consecutive starts two monthsago against the Braves and Marlins. Pelfrey hadn't been dealt aloss since the latter of those outings, when Florida tallied sixruns (four earned) against him on May 26. The Mets (58-50) had wonPelfrey's last nine starts, matching the longest string of wins inone pitcher's starts in the NL this season.
Staked to a 1-0 lead on David Wright's double-play groundout in thefirst that scored Reyes, Pelfrey carried that lead into the fourth.Jeremy Hermida then delivered a leadoff triple on a hanging slider,and Jorge Cantu followed with an RBI single. Pelfrey nearly heldthe line there. With two out and two Marlins on base, Pelfrey wentto a full count against Cody Ross. The next pitch was belted intothe right-field corner for a two-run triple. No. 8 hitter JohnBaker and the opposing pitcher Johnson then contributed run-scoringdoubles before Hanley Ramirez's groundout ended the five-run frame.
"I couldn't even get the pitcher out tonight," Pelfrey said. "Whenyou have nights like that, you're not going to win. I just leftballs up. My location needed to be better. I made bad pitches. Thatpitch to Ross was a fastball away, and it was up. The catcher(Baker) got a ball that was right down the middle. And the pitchergot a double that was a ball up. When you leave balls up, it'spretty hard to get away with it."
Carlos Delgado lost a 10-game hitting streak, but finished themonth with a .357average (35-for-98), nine homers and 24 RBI. Hesent a shot to the track in right-center off Joe Nelson in theeighth that looked as if it might tie the score at 5, but Rosscaught it just in front of a 404-foot marker with his back to thewall to end the inning.
As for Pelfrey, the Mets hope to curtail his workload in his firstfull major league season, aiming to keep him around 180 innings.(He's currently at 126-2/3 innings.) Manuel even suggested the Metsmay use a spot starter at some point during a stretch of 23straight days with games that begins Tuesday as a way to givePelfrey an extra day off.
"He's probably embarking on some foreign soil," Manuel said aboutPelfrey's innings count.