Tag: Mike Pelfrey

Mets Split Series With Reds With Extras Win

Mike Pelfrey came back to Earth a bit today, but he was still pretty good. He went seven innings and gave up five runs. Although he only threw 89 pitches in the game, which is a good sign. He did give up three big home runs today though which is odd for Pelfrey.

The Mets got huge offensive games from Jose Reyes (4 for 6, 3 R, 3B, SB), Ramon Castro (2 for 5, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR), and Carlos Delgado (3 for 4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR). Delgado has raised his average to a respectable .261 for the season. That’s not far below his .279 career average.

Robinson Cancel had a clutch double in the tenth inning that started a rally in which the Mets scored two runs to take the lead for good. Billy Wagner locked down the tenth inning for the save to secure a 2-2 series split with the Reds. Wagner struck out the side for those of us getting concerned about his shaky outings recently.

The Mets come home for an off day tomorrow and start a big three game series with the Phillies at Shea on Tuesday. With the win today and a Phillies loss, the Mets are tied with the Phils for the lead in the NL East and .5 games up on the Florida Marlins.

Box score

On Deck- July 20- Mets At Reds Game 4

New York Mets (52-46 Road: 24-28) at Cincinnati Reds (48-51 Home: 28-20) 1:15pm

Mike Pelfrey (8-6 3.64) vs. Edinson Volquez (12-3 2.29)

TV: CW11  Radio: WFAN

What to watch: This is probably the best pitching matchup of the four game series. And that’s saying something in a series that Johan Santana pitched in. The Mets really need this game badly to avoid losing 3 of 4 to the lowly Reds. The Mets absolutely need to win this game to have a little momentum going into the Phillies series that begins Tuesday at home.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game. You can access the chat room for Mets fans on the "Live Game Chat" link above or just click here.

Report: Pelfrey Is Still Mediocre

PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I read an interesting post by Peter Bendix of Beyond The Boxscore about Mike Pelfrey. Basically, the gist of it is that Pelfrey has dominated bad offensive teams but struggled against good teams. The conclusion is that he hasn’t really figured anything out or turned a corner this season. He’s just beating up on bad teams.

I hadn’t really thought about the level of competition while watching Pelfrey dominate in his starts since May 31st. He looks like he can get anyone out, regardless of their offensive stature. But I’ll certainly be keeping a closer eye on that in the second half of the season.

It looks to me like he’s taken a little bit off his fastball to improve control. He’s throwing a higher percentage of fastballs. He’s mixes in an occasional curveball and he’s throwing a lot of rising four seam fastballs at the top of the strike zone. Those are tangible changes to his strategy over the past month and a half.

Zemanta Pixie

Mets Take 9 Game Win Streak Into Second Half

PHOENIX, AZ - May 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Mets go into the traditional second half of the season tonight with a nine game winning streak, confidence, and swagger. The last two weeks have seen Mike Pelfrey dominate all competition like the next coming of Roy Halladay. His recent performances have symbolized the Mets turnaround from the most lifeless team that money could buy to a team of united players that are achieving, if not exceeding, their potential.

As the Mets series in Cincinnati begins tonight, there will still be questions about Ryan Church’s foggy head, Carlos Delgado’s resurgent bat, Pedro Martinez’ ability to stabilize his spot in the rotation, and Billy Wagner’s ability to close “the big game”, and the crater in left field that Moises Alou left behind.

But there won’t be questions about the Mets desire to win and intestinal fortitude. There were plenty of those questions during the first two months of this season. That has miraculously changed under the direction of manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen.

It’s difficult to quantify how much the managerial and coaching changes have changed the Mets. I haven’t seen Dan Warthen throwing seven shutout innings but I have seen that from Oliver Perez and Pelfrey. I haven’t seen Jerry Manuel have a 9 RBI game but I did see that from Delgado. But something clearly changed on this team when the manager/coaching purge occurred. The Met took a little time to stabilize… Then caught fire!!!

The biggest change for me, as a fan, is that I like watching this team over the last month. I didn’t for the first two months of the season. It wasn’t fun or enjoyable. I understand that the Mets winning streak won’t carry into September, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I like about this team is their resiliency, their ability to mount a comeback, and the appearance that they want to win as badly as I want them to. That’s the kind of team that I’ll pay to watch.

Zemanta Pixie

Video- Mets Hot Going Into The Break

Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin appears on ESPN’s First Take to talk about the state of the Mets at the All-Star break. The topics include Jerry Manuel’s influence during the team’s turnaround, Mike Pelfrey, and Ryan Church’s impact on the Mets trade needs.

Pelfrey NL Player of The Week

PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Mike Pelfrey was named the National League player of the week. The New York Mets pitcher has won six consecutive games and has a 2.26 ERA in his last nine starts. Pelfrey has just been phenomenal for the last month and a half. I know that this run started under the tutelage of Rick Peterson but new pitching coach Dan Warthen has clearly had a tangible impact on the Mets pitching staff.

Zemanta Pixie

Mets Sweep Rockies With 7-0 Win

The Mets won their ninth game in a row tonight, the longest winning streak in eight years as they head into the All-Star break. Mike Pelfrey was dominant again, going eight shutout innings and getting a curtain call by the Shea crowd. He gave up six hits and no walks along with five strikeouts.

Carlos Beltran got the party started with a three run homer in the first inning. He finished the game going 3 for 4. Carlos Delgado hit a monster shot off the scoreboard that was estimated at over 500 feet.

But the story of the night was Pelfrey continuing his run of complete domination and five wins in his last five starts. Incredible.

The Mets don’t gain any ground on the Phillies today but go into the break as baseball’s hottest team and only a half game out of the NL East lead.

image