K-Rod not happy, despite getting win

Make no mistake: It was an unsatisfying result for Milwaukee Brewers reliever Frankie Rodriguez Saturday.

He blew the save and got the win, all while surrounded by the persistent attention he so disliked when he was a Met.

Late game Brewers comeback or not, this was not a good day for K-Rod.

"I could care less, what they say, what they do, what they don't say," he said of the fans showering boos on him when he entered the game, his first appearance in a game at Citi Field since his trade from the Mets July 12. "Honestly, I could care less. I've got a job to do."

It was a job that, at least Saturday, he didn't do particularly well.

The boos eventually turned to cheers, albeit not the kind K-Rod wanted to hear. After getting the first two outs in the eighth, he went 0-and-2 on Ruben Tejada before issuing a walk. Rodriguez then yielded a rope to pinch hitter Josh Thole that seemingly befuddled centerfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. He got a late jump and while running toward the wall he saw the ball click off his glove for a game-tying double. The next batter, Angel Pagan, parked a flat 1-and-2 changeup into the rightfield seats to give the Mets a 9-7 advantage and send the fans into a frenzy.

"As soon as it hit the bat I was like, [Hairston has] got it," Rodriguez said. "In fact, I thought he caught it. And when I looked again, that's when I saw the ball on the ground."

The double caused an emphatic reaction from the Mets' former closer, though not the same kind of theatrics he normally displays on the mound once he has nailed down a save. And when Pagan got hold of his pitch, K-Rod became downright stoic.

"It was right down the middle," he said. "Off-speed. The ball didn't do anything . . . I made a mistake. He made me pay for it. Bottom line."

Saturday was Rodriguez's first appearance since Aug. 13. He allowed three runs, his first game allowing multiple runs since a blown save against Arizona on July 20.

"Frankie told me, 'I need to pitch,' " Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "And this is why. You can't go a week without pitching guys, you can't do it. That's why he's been telling me he's wanting to get in games, because he knows he can't sit out too long and have his command."

Or his concentration -- the lack of which, Rodriguez said, caused him to lose Tejada after getting ahead in the count. It was the big walk that set up the big inning that capped the big comeback.

"I pretty much just fell asleep with [Tejada] and started messing around," Rodriguez said. "Unfortunately I didn't get it done, but tomorrow is another day."