Author: Paul Zinn
In a game the Mets desparately needed to have, starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey's performance was the biggest of many key efforts that spurred New York to a 1-0 victory over the Brewers at Miller Field this afternoon.
The victory snaps a five-game losing streak, and allowed the Mets to avoid a sweep to start a key seven-game road trip. It also follows a 30-minute, closed door team meeting by manager Jerry Manual last night and a dreadful month of June for the team.
The contest was littered with key performances, but none were more significant than Pelfrey's.
The pitcher improved to 6-3 with the victory and threw 7 2/3's innings of shutout ball, while striking out six and allowing the same number of hits.
Pelfrey left with two outs in the eighth inning and runners on first and second, but reliever Sean Green got a key out against J.J. Hardy to put the game in the hands of closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Even Rodriguez did not make things easy on himself, in obtaining his 21st save of the season.
Ryan Braun led off with a single, and the next batter, Prince Fielder, hit a rocket of a line drive that would have definitely been a base hit had shortstop Alex Cora not been perfectly positioned to make the catch. Rodriguez then recorded two more ground ball outs to end the game.
No ones know if this will signal any type of turnaround, but it helps the Mets remain close to the Phillies and the Marlins for one more day, while they try to get healthy.
Even more significant is that the pitching had to be perfect today. New York faced Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo, and he had his best stuff, allowing just the one run on five hits, while striking out a career-high 12 in seven innings.
The lone run came in the sixth when Luis Castillo led off with a double to left and scored on Ryan Church's single to centerfield.
Still, Pelfrey was in and out of trouble all afternoon. He got a pair of key double plays in the fourth and fifth innings to stave off run-scoring opportunities. Then, in the seventh, Prince Fielder was tagged out stealing third for the first out of the inning.
The Mets make a one-day stop in Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon at 12:35 p.m. before three key games at Philadelphia. Tomorrow Tim Redding (1-3) faces Paul Maholm (5-4).
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