NewsPelfrey can usher in break on high note
New York (41-45) vs. Cincinnati (42-44), 1:10 p.m. ET
By Tim Britton / MLB.com
07/11/09 11:55 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The winning streak has been a foreign concept to the Mets since the start of June.The Mets have won consecutive games just three times since June 1. They have beaten the same team on back-to-back days once in that span. They have not won three in a row since the end of May.
They'll try to carry some momentum over from Johan Santana's lights-out performance on Saturday into Sunday afternoon's rubber game with the Reds at Citi Field.
The Mets have been a streaky team for much of the season. Whereas in May, those streaks tended to be of the winning variety, they've all been skids in June and July. Two losing streaks of three games, one of four and one of five have pushed the Mets down into fourth place and 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Phillies.
During these six weeks, the Mets have not gotten the consistent starting pitching that breeds winning streaks. Sunday's starter, Mike Pelfrey, has been Exhibit A of that up-and-down pattern. Pelfrey followed up his strongest outing of the year in Milwaukee by lasting just three innings and allowing four earned runs in his last start against the Dodgers.
The right-hander has completed six innings just twice since the beginning of June. That's a far cry from his production this time last year, when he entered the All-Star break with six wins in six starts.
In fact, the whole Mets team hopes to take a belated lesson from last season, when a 10-game winning streak that bridged the Midsummer Classic propelled them from mediocrity to contention.
To replicate that achievement, the Mets will need the kind of quick start they had Saturday night. After Angel Pagan snagged Ramon Hernandez's deep fly ball to center field to strand two runners in the top of the first, he led off the bottom of the inning with a sharp single to center. It was the first time the Mets had led off the game with a base hit since July 1 against the Brewers.
On the season, the Mets are batting a paltry .228 to lead off games.
The Mets had not scored a run in the opening frame since June 30, and hadn't scored as many as three to start a game since they put up five in the first in Washington on June 7.
"It's good not just for me, but for the whole team," Santana said of the fast start. "Everybody feels better when you put pressure on early."
Pitching matchupCIN: RHP Aaron Harang (5-8, 3.89 ERA)
The winless streak for Harang has reached eight starts since May 25. Five were qualified as quality starts -- six innings, allowing three of fewer runs. He extricated himself from danger several times during a six-inning no-decision against the Phillies on Tuesday, when he allowed three earned runs early on nine hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Harang was the losing pitcher against the Mets on Openng Day in Cincinnati, despite allowing one run in five innings. Otherwise, he has a 1-1 record and a 8.56 ERA in five starts against the Mets since the beginning of the 2006 season. Harang has a 1-5 record and a 4.90 ERA in nine starts on the road this season.
NYM: RHP Mike Pelfrey RHP (6-4, 4.52 ERA)
Pelfrey didn't follow his best performance of the season with anything comparable against the Dodgers on Tuesday. He surrendered five runs, four earned, on eight hits in three-plus innings. Pelfrey has a 2-1 record with a 4.97 ERA in five career appearances against the Reds. He allowed four runs on five hits in five innings against them in Cincinnati on April 8 to get the win. Brandon Phillips has four hits, including a home run, in his past seven at-bats against Pelfrey, who has two victories and four losses in his 11 most recent starts. The Mets have won five of the 11 games.
Tidbits
With the victory, Santana passed Freddy Garcia to become the winningest Venezuelan-born pitcher in Major League history. ... It was the Mets' sixth shutout of the season -- three of which have been started by Santana. ... Santana is now 13-2 in his past 19 home starts for the Mets. ... Manager Jerry Manuel said he would use Pagan in the leadoff spot again on Sunday before reevaluating the order during the All-Star break. ... Pagan's second-inning triple was the first the Mets had hit at Citi Field since May 13. The team had hit 13 triples in its first 20 home games before going without one for 23 consecutive games. ... Omir Santos snapped out of a 2-for-28 slump with singles up the middle in each of his first three at-bats. ... One day after he was told of the demotion, Nick Evans was, in fact, optioned to the Mets' Triple-A Buffalo affiliate. The assignment, originally planned to accommodate Pagan, was delayed one day because of the acquisition of Jeff Francoeur, who didn't join the team until Saturday. ... Francoeur, who wore No. 7 with Braves, wears No. 12 with the Mets. The players who previously have worn No. 12 are: Roberto Alomar, Ken Boswell, Ron Darling, Tommy Davis, Sammy Drake, Shawon Dunston, Jorge Fabregas, Danny Garcia, Shawn Gilbert, Joe Ginsberg, Jesse Gonder, Jack Heidemann, Keith Hughes, Cleon Jones, Jeff Kent, Lee Mazzilli, Willie Randolph, John Stearns and John Stephenson. Randolph also wore No. 12 as manager, and Stearns wore it as a coach.
This date in Mets history -- July 12: The Mets got their first taste of the real Sandy Koufax on this date in 1962. They had lost to him at the Polo Grounds on May 30, but they scored six runs in his complete game. Koufax pitched seven innings in Dodger Stadium on July 12, but allowed three hits and three walks and struck out six in what became a 3-0 victory for the Dodgers. ... Jon Matlack pitched the second of his 26 big league shutouts on this date in 1972 against the Giants at Shea Stadium. Matlack, the National League Rookie of the Year that year, allowed four singles and two walks and struck nine in the 4-0 victory. He would win 15 games that season. ... In the first game back after the All-Star break, the Mets scored five runs in the ninth inning to beat the Braves, 8-6, on this date in 1984. A double by Mike Fitzgerald drove in the Mets' seventh and eighth runs.
Butch Huskey had four hits and scored twice, and Brian McRae hit a two-run home runs in the Mets' 5-2 victory against the Expos at Shea on this date in 1998. Reliever Jeff Tam was the winning pitcher. The victory was Tam's first and last in 24 appearances over two seasons with the Mets. ... Last year on this date, Pedro Martinez (four innings) and four relievers combined to shut out the Rockies at Shea. The Mets' eight position players had one hit each, and Jose Reyes hit a home run in the 3-0 victory.
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Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
