On Night Pelfrey Gets It Together, Mets' Bats Go On Hiatus
NEW YORK (AP) -- Mike Pelfrey's pitching line looked pretty good -- seven innings, no earned runs. Which made the bottom line even more disappointing.
Pelfrey absorbed a tough-luck loss Wednesday night and the New York Mets dropped their fifth in a row, 2-0 to the Washington Nationals.
"It's unfortunate that it didn't work out," he said.
Third baseman David Wright's fifth error in seven games set up RBI singles by Michael Morse and Jayson Werth in the third inning, and that was enough to beat the Mets.
Pelfrey has won only one of his last 10 starts.
"There were some real positives" in Pelfrey's performance, manager Terry Collins said. "But like I just told him, right now you've got to be perfect. And when you're not, the way we're struggling offensively, we can't give them any support."
Brad Peacock pitched five impressive innings, blanking the Mets on a mere two singles and earning his first big league win. Center fielder Rick Ankiel preserved this victory, making a diving catch in left-center on Jose Reyes' liner with runners at the corners for the final out.
The Mets have been lacking key hits all season. They left 10 runners on base and have stranded the most in the majors. New York has scored a total of four runs in losing the first three games of this series.
"We're taking pitches we can hit. We are getting ourselves in counts and getting pitches we're having trouble hitting," Collins said.
Earlier in the day, Atlanta's win officially eliminated New York from playoff contention.
The Nationals won their fourth in a row and improved to 70-77, topping last year's win total. They also pulled into a virtual tie with the Mets for third place in the NL East -- the franchise has not finished third or higher since 2002, when it played in Montreal.
Pelfrey (7-12) gave up six hits and tied a season high with six strikeouts.
"I thought I was good, especially after that third inning. I think I threw something like 36 pitches in the last four innings," he said. "I got into a groove and I thought I was able to put the ball wherever I wanted. The frustrating part of coming out of a game like this is I thought I could throw a complete game, so that's frustrating on my end."
Reyes went 1 for 5 and never needed to test his bothersome left hamstring. The speedy star noticeably did not steal in a key spot Tuesday night, and Collins acknowledged before this game: "At times, it may not be the same guy we know."
Peacock (1-0) was in command from the start during his second game in the majors, having made a brief relief appearance last week. The 23-year-old righty gave a performance certainly worthy of Stephen Strasburg, the former overall No. 1 pick by Washington.
"I'm impressed," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said.
A 41st-round draft choice in 2006, Peacock set down the first eight New York batters before walking Pelfrey on a full count in the third.
Peacock faced his lone jam in the fourth when a walk to Jason Bay loaded the bases with two outs. Pitching coach Steve McCatty strolled to the mound and did most of the talking, with Peacock nodding yes several times during the visit.
Peacock then demonstrated plenty of poise, mixing fastballs and curves before tossing a changeup that got fellow rookie Josh Satin to pop up.
"It was awesome," Peacock said.
After 94 pitches, three walks and two strikeouts, Peacock was pulled. He went a combined 15-3 in Double-A and Triple-A this year.
Tom Gorzelanny, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen finished with shutout relief. Storen got his 37th save in 42 chances, working around a pair of leadoff walks when Justin Turner popped up a bunt back to the mound. The Mets failed on three bunt tries Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss.
NOTES: Mets RHP Chris Schwinden will start the series finale Thursday. He lost in his major league debut against Atlanta last week. Nationals LHP Tommy Milone makes his third big league start. ... Mets 1B coach Mookie Wilson and former Boston 1B Bill Buckner have commissioned a painting of their famous play in the 1986 World Series, and the artwork will be displayed in the Mets Hall of Fame at Citi Field. Asked if he ever grows weary of discussing the play, Wilson said, "If it's Bill and I, no. All these years later, we find different aspects to talk about, like what set it up. If it's someone coming up and saying, 'What were you thinking at the time?' then yes, I do get tired of it."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
