Mets take Final Game of Nationals Series
After blowing Saturday’s game against the Nationals the Mets came back strong on Sunday, coming from behind again but this time holding on for the win, 6-3.
How much more of Mike Pelfrey do we have to see to know that he cannot be part of the Mets 2012 rotation? Pelfrey was staked to a 2-0 lead on a Ruben Tejada single in the third, yet he couldn’t even make it out of the fifth inning, allowing three runs before Terry Collins mercifully pulled the plug. Pelfrey walked five as we had to sit through him struggling through 106 pitches.
On the flip side we have Lucas Duda, who is proving he belongs with each passing game. He’s also apparently vying for the title of world’s strongest man. Duda hit a solo homer in the sixth inning to tie the game at three. It was a pitch low in the strike zone that Duda went down to get. Off the bat it looked like a simple fly ball, but somehow it landed in the upper deck in right-center. Nationals color guy F.P Santangelo said it was one of the longest home runs he’s seen all season at Nationals Park. The homer made up for Duda misplaying a double in the fourth inning in the middle of the Nats scoring three runs.
But the Mets weren’t done in the sixth — they loaded the bases off of Livan Hernandez, who was pitching his last game of the year and possibly his career. Pinch hitter Willie Harris came through with a single to make it 5-3. Then with runners in first and third, Mike Nickeas pulled off the suicide squeeze to make it 6-3.
Josh Stinson continues to impress in his second appearance with the Mets. After allowing a leadoff double and then a walk in the sixth, he got a double play and settled down to throw two scoreless innings. Bobby Parnell recovered from Saturday’s debacle to nail the save.
The offense saved Pelfrey from another potential loss, but he raised his ERA to 4.68. That’s good for eighth worst among qualifying pitchers in the National League. In fact, four Mets starters are among the bottom 14 in ERA. That is completely unacceptable and is one of the reasons the Mets are a medicore team.