Mets baseball blog

Pelfrey gets lit up, Garcia gets reassigned

After allowing one earned run over 10 innings in his previous two starts, Mike Pelfrey was tagged for six earned on 10 hits over 4-2/3 innings in Tuesday's 8-0 loss to the Astros. That included a solo homer by Ivan Rodriguez and a three-run double by Geoff Blum in Houston's six-run fifth inning.

"I just got away from executing pitches and the ball started coming back over the plate," said Pelfrey, who is slated to start the second game of the season on April 8.

"There comes a time in spring training when pitchers have a little lull and it's usually around this time," Jerry Manuel said. "I'm not really concerned with the outing." Continue

Pelfrey in mid-season form

Mike Pelfrey retired the first 13 batters and allowed one run on three hits in six innings as the Mets defeated the Astros, 12-1, Thursday. Jose Reyes had two-run doubles from both sides of the plate as the Astros' Grapefruit League winless streak rose to 19 games.

After observing Livan Hernandez's success throwing a two-seam fastball to lefthanded batters, Pelfrey decided to incorporate the pitch, which looks like it's heading inside until veering over the plate. He used it to consecutively strike out Kz Matsui and Michael Bourn looking in the fourth.

As for the strain that caused him to miss a start 10 days earlier, Pelfrey labeled his lower left leg "over 90%.

"It's still a little stiff, but it's almost night and day from when it first happened," he said. (Daily News)