NewsFeliciano again proves a rock for Mets
New York (67-91) at Washington (54-103), 4:35 p.m. ET
By Jeff Seidel / Special to MLB.com
09/29/09 11:28 PM ET
WASHINGTON -- In a season where so much has gone consistently wrong for the Mets, reliever Pedro Feliciano is one of the few things that has gone consistently right. Feliciano exited Tuesday's game leading the Majors in appearances with 86 after striking out Adam Dunn -- the only batter he faced -- in the eighth. He had been tied with Peter Moylan of the Braves in that category and now is tied for the team record with four games to go. In fact, Feliciano is very familiar with that record -- because he set it last year. But Feliciano has been solid again this season. The left-hander has a 6-4 record with a 3.09 ERA heading into Tuesday's game. "My arm feels good," Feliciano said. "The more I pitch, the looser my arm gets. I think the more I pitch, the better I feel." There's no question that pitching a lot doesn't seem to bother him. He has pitched in 313 games over the last four seasons, heading into Tuesday's game, which ranks second in the Major Leagues. That number also is the highest number of games that any Mets pitcher has appeared in during a four-season period. What makes Feliciano more valuable is that he's been consistent. Left-handers are hitting .219 against him this season, and he's allowed just 10 of 53 inherited baserunners to score. "If they wanted me to pitch every day, I'd pitch every day," he said. But for now, with the season just about finished, Feliciano said he's got a simple goal. "I just want to break my record again," he said. Pitching matchupNYM: RHP Tim Redding (3-6, 5.29 ERA)
A first-pitch, three-run home run by Hanley Ramirez essentially denied Redding a chance to beat the Marlins on Friday night in Miami. Other than the home run and the four-pitch walk to Nick Johnson that preceded it, he pitched effectively enough for six-plus innings. Redding walked four and allowed six hits. But now he has one victory in five starts, though the Mets have won twice in that sequence. He faces the Nationals, the team he defeated Sept. 19, allowing one earned run in seven-plus innings. WSH: LHP John Lannan (9-13, 3.93 ERA)
Lannan, who is two-thirds of an inning shy of his first 200-inning season, didn't give up any earned runs in seven solid innings against the Braves on Friday, but he was hit with bad luck on defense, and it's the reason he lost his 11th game of the season. Tidbits
Angel Pagan now has gotten at least one hit in 31 of his past 40 games. He started Tuesday's game with a leadoff double and later scored on a bases-loaded walk. Pagan got hits in the both the first and second innings. ... The Mets will finish this decade with a winning record. With five games left in the season, they have an 812-801 mark in the first decade of the 21st Century. ... The Mets haven't won back-to-back road games since beating the Astros on July 25-26. ... Wednesday's game will be the Nationals' final home game this season. Tickets
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• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Mets (John Maine, 6-6, 4.72) vs. Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 14-11, 2.97), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Mets (Pat Misch, 2-4, 4.71) vs. Astros (Yorman Bazardo, 1-2, 8.23), 1:10 p.m. ET
Jeff Seidel is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
