Gee seems calm (and good) beyond his years

Bad injury news for Ike Davis and David Wright. Constant late-game meltdowns. Likely impending trades of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez.

If Dillon Gee had any of this on his mind Saturday afternoon as he chillaxed in front of his locker, he hid it very well. "I just hang out," the rookie righthander said. "Look at my iPad."

He'll have plenty of opportunities to read about himself Sunday on the iPad, about how he steered the Mets toward a much-needed 5-0 win over the Braves Saturday night at Citi Field. But that doesn't seem to be his style.

The Texas native, now 6-0 with a 3.33 ERA after starting the season in the minors, seems to be pretty low-key all of the time -- even when he's just taken the mound with his club in very bad shape and outdueled Jair Jurrjens, the National League Pitcher of the Month for May.

"For a young guy, for a guy who's basically a rookie-status guy, a lot of stuff rolls off his back," Terry Collins said before the game. Sure seems that way. Gee threw seven shutout innings, striking out two, walking two and allowing four hits, and revealed after the game that he unleashed a secret weapon, a cut fastball, against the Braves.

"My slider has been so bad," he said. "I had to figure out something else."

Some pitchers can work on a pitch for weeks or even years before introducing it in a game setting. Gee said he started working on it earlier in the week and that he used it against lefty hitters Freddie Freeman and Eric Hinske to prevent them from sitting on his changeup.

Gee hasn't been a bona fide ace this season, not statistically, at least. A look at his peripheral numbers indicates that he entered his latest start having benefited from some good fortune.

Given Gee's modest pedigree, however -- the Mets selected him in the 21st round of the 2007 amateur draft -- he'd still be a huge boost to the club even if his numbers dipped.

"I don't think you'd ask for much more than what he's done," Collins said. "All he's done is give us quality outings."

Whether it's real or just the visceral product of the team's adversity, Gee seems to possess a special toughness on the mound. The Braves put runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth, and Gee thought he had Martin Prado struck out at least once, if not twice, on his 1-and-2 and 2-and-2 pitches. He hung in there, and on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Prado hit a changeup to Jose Reyes for the third out.

Gee had to exit when, with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Jason Pridie pinch hit for him and delivered what proved to be the winning single. Reyes' three-run triple helped the Mets give Pedro Beato a sufficient cushion in the seventh. There would be no late letdown.

Jason Bay's continuing struggles, as Collins lowered him to sixth in the batting order, would prove a mere sidebar, thanks to the easygoing Gee.

"It's definitely been rough with the late-inning losses,'' Gee said. "I don't really read into the situation too much. Every time it's my chance, I try to give us a chance." For a team that often appears helpless and hopeless, Gee's chances feel like gifts from the baseball gods.