NewsFrancoeur trade paying Mets dividends
New York (52-59) at Arizona (50-62), 9:40 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
08/09/09 10:04 PM ET
SAN DIEGO -- Most of what little noise the Mets' offense made in four games in San Diego came in the final game Sunday. They plated three runs in the sixth inning after scoring merely six in the first three games. And most of the noise came from the bat of Jeff Francoeur. The team's primary in-season acquisition -- Francoeur was obtained from the Braves one month ago Monday -- didn't crush the Padres, but he did contribute six hits and scored three runs while most of his colleagues accomplished much less.His latest performance, two hits in the Mets' 5-1 victory Sunday, put his batting average with the Mets at .300 in 100 at-bats. Francoeur has played in 26 games since being acquired from the Braves for Ryan Church and has gone hitless in merely seven of them -- and never in more than two straight. He drove in 19 runs in his first 20 games after the trade. And he has provided the aggressive and strong-armed defense that Mets had anticipated.
The Mets couldn't have hoped for much more when they made the trade. Francoeur had batted .250 and driven in 35 runs in 304 at-bats with the Braves. His strikeout ratio is down, and he's even walked three times in his month as a Mets.
"He's worked with Howard [Johnson, the batting coach] and he's willing to listen," manager Jerry Manuel said. "He's making more contact and better contact that we remember."
And now the Mets' road show moves on to Phoenix, where Francoeur will get to face one of his favorite pitchers. He has five hits, including a double and a home run, in eight career at-bats against Jon Garland, who is scheduled to start for the Diamondbacks on Wednesday afternoon.
Hardly known as a patient batter, Francoeur says his success against Garland is a function of the patience he implements against him.
"I see the ball well against him, and I know I can wait him out," he said. He's looking forward the series.
Pitching matchup
NYM: RHP Mike Pelfrey (8-7, 4.75 ERA)
Rather than pitch against the Padres, Pelfrey became a padre. The birth of his first child Thursday pushed his 22nd start back two days. Now he pitches in Phoenix rather than San Diego and with seven days' rest. The Diamondbacks were his last opponent. Pelfrey lost his start against them Aug. 2 at Citi Field, allowing three runs in five hits and three walks in five innings. He threw 107 pitches. He has averaged merely 5.4 innings in his past 12 starts after a run of five in which he averaged 6.9. Pelfrey's ERA on the road is 5.75, and five of the nine home runs he has allowed have come in the 51 2/3 innings he has pitched away from Citi. He is winless with three losses and a 5.91 ERA in four career starts against the D-backs.
ARIZ: LHP Doug Davis, (6-10, 3.67 ERA)
Davis looked to be on the way to a tough-luck loss in his most recent start before the D-backs rallied to beat the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He had allowed two runs in seven innings. But when the D-backs rallied for three runs in the eighth, he gained his second victory in three starts. After two poor outings, Davis has allowed merely four runs in 19 innings in his last three starts, going 2-0. The no-decision came against the Mets at Citi Field on July 31, a game the D-backs also won. Davis held the Mets to two runs on four hits -- two of them home runs by David Wright and Daniel Murphy -- in six innings. Wright, among the league leaders in batting average against left-handed pitching, has one other hit in 11 other at-bats against Davis. Wright, Francoeur, Luis Castillo and Angel Pagan have six hits in 45 at-bats against the D-backs' starter.
Tidbits
Ryan Webb pitched he seventh inning for the Padres. He is the son of one-time Mets pitcher Hanke Webb whose errant pickoff throw ended a 25-inning Mets loss to the Cardinals early in the morning on Sept. 12, 1974. ... Frankie Rodriguez threw more fastballs early in the count and was more in control in the ninth inning. ... Luis Castillo played for the first time since spraining his ankle on Tuesday. The second baseman went 2-for-5. ... Gary Sheffield is expected to get the start in left field in Arizona on Monday.
Eight years later, Ellis Valentine doubled in the go-ahead run in the 14th inning, and the Mets defeated the Cubs, 7-5, at Wrigley Field, in their first game after the settlement of the 50-day players' strike. The Mets played 53 games after the strike in the "split-season" format, winning 24, losing 28 and tying one. They finished in fourth place, 5 1/2 games behind the second-half-leading Expos. ... The Mets produced their final victory of the 1994 season, beating the Phillies, 6-2, at the Vet. Bret Saberhagen was the winning pitcher. He walked one batter and finished his season with 14 wins and 13 walks. The season's final game, a 15-inning, 2-1 loss to the Phillies, came the following day. A fourth in-season players' strike began after the game. The World Series was canceled on Sept. 15.
Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• WPIX On radio
• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Tuesday: Mets (Livan Hernandez, 7-6, 5.08) at Diamondbacks (Max Scherzer, 6-6, 4.01), 9:40 p.m. ET
\
• Wednesday: Mets (Oliver Perez, 2-3, 6.38) at Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 6-10, 4.33), 3:40 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Off-day.
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
