Do the Mets have a new ace?
It certainly looked that way in a 6-0 blanking of the lowly Nationals last night at Shea Stadium as Mike Pelfrey cruised through seven innings to his second win in as many starts this season.
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Johan Santana might get most of the attention and by far the bulk of the money, but a newly confident Pelfrey has been the pitching story of the young season for the Amazin’s.
Throwing forcefully on a chilly night, the big right-hander allowed five hits and eight baserunners overall while striking out four. In the process, Pelfrey brought the Mets (6-6) back to .500 and lifted their spirits after a pair of ugly weekend losses to the Brewers.
“The kid threw the heck out of the ball tonight,” Willie Randolph said. “He used everything he had. It was a total game from him, and just the way we want him to be.”
Pelfrey got huge assists from David Wright and Jose Reyes, who turned all those boos the Mets heard at Shea last week into cheers last night by celebrating Jackie Robinson Day with a combined 7-for-9 show of force at the plate.
While Wright supplied the muscle with two doubles, a homer and five RBIs, Reyes was the prime source of energy in a game he wasn’t even expected make. Sidelined over the weekend by a strained left hamstring, Reyes was a late addition but wound up a homer short of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a run.
“I saw the ball so good tonight,” said Reyes, who was advised before the game by Randolph to take it easy. “It’s tough to take it easy when everything is in front of you like that.”
The Mets also got an emotional lift in the ninth, when reliever Duaner Sanchez pitched a scoreless inning in his first regular-season appearance since July 2006 after enduring two shoulder surgeries.
But make no mistake, this was Pelfrey’s night.
Staked to a 2-0 lead in the first on Wright’s third homer in as many games, Pelfrey made it stand up with a sinking fastball in the mid 90-mph range that repeatedly frustrated Washington hitters.
Pelfrey rarely was threatened by an anemic Nationals lineup missing ex-Met Paul Lo Duca (thumb injury). The only time Pelfrey ran into trouble was in the third, but the former first-round pick fought his way out of that bases-loaded jam by blowing a 93-mph third strike by Nick Johnson.
“Everybody in here knows Pelfrey has that in him,” Wright said. “When he gets on a roll and pounds the strike zone, especially on a cold night, he’s pretty unhittable.”
Not even another shaky outing by the fans’ newest boo target, Aaron Heilman, could prevent the Mets from picking up the shutout while handing Washington its 10th loss in 11 games after a 3-0 start.
But while Heilman struggled in the eighth, giving up a double and a walk while drawing a mound visit in just one inning of work, Pelfrey was the picture of calm and determination.
It was a far cry from the Pelfrey that the Mets saw this spring, when he all but conceded the fifth and final rotation spot with a mostly awful showing. Only a foot injury to Orlando Hernandez prevented Pelfrey from opening the season at Triple-A New Orleans.
Pelfrey never backed down.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable and more confident every time out,” he said. “Even though the results didn’t always show it, I felt like I was getting better.”