Barajas, Davis homer twice each; Pelfrey solid into the eighth inning
New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis (29) hits his second home run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants. (May 7, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Not only is Mike Pelfrey's right shoulder apparently fine, he's never looked better than he did during his efficient outing Friday against the Giants. Pelfrey passed an MRI exam earlier in the week after complaining of tightness in his shoulder but the true test was this start - and he aced it.
Still, it was up to Rod Barajas to finish the job - after Francisco Rodriguez couldn't - and his second home run of the night in the bottom of the ninth inning finally secured the Mets' 6-4 win over the Giants at Citi Field.
Barajas and Ike Davis each hit a pair of home runs, going back-to-back in the second inning, which is when Barajas hit No. 100 of his career. With one out in the ninth, he drilled the winning shot, and ninth of the season, off Giants reliever Sergio Romo as the Mets extended their home winning streak to eight games. It is their longest since the Mets reeled off a franchise-record 11 straight from Aug. 5-24, 2006.
Pelfrey cruised for 71/3 innings, the longest outing for a Mets starter this season. He needed only 79 pitches through seven, allowing three runs, but had to be rescued by Fernando Nieve with two on and one out in the eighth inning.
Nieve, who allowed a pair of homers Tuesday, got Juan Uribe to bounce into a fielder's choice and Nate Schierholtz lined out to leftfield to end the threat. In the ninth, however, Francisco Rodriguez couldn't hold the 4-3 lead. With one out, pinch hitter John Bowker drilled a 2-and-2 pitch for the tying homer that landed about 10 rows deep in rightfield.
K-Rod blew the save, but Davis saved him from further disgrace with another acrobatic catch over the dugout fence on Pablo Sandoval's foul ball for the third out. Luis Castillo prevented the go-ahead run from scoring with a diving stop of Mark DeRosa's infield single.
Pelfrey showed no lingering effects from last Saturday's dismal start in Philadelphia. He allowed eight hits, but only two were for extra bases, and three times he stranded runners in scoring position. In the fifth inning, Pelfrey struck out Sandoval with a 94-mph fastball. In the seventh, he got Aaron Rowand to hit into a 5-4-3 double play.
Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez had not allowed a home run in his previous five starts this season, a stretch of 29 innings. And he probably figured that streak was likely to continue Friday at spacious Citi Field. Sanchez also had not given up more than three hits in each of his previous four starts while limiting opposing teams to a .170 batting average, the lowest in the majors.
But the Mets attacked Sanchez early with Jason Bay's RBI double in the first, the back-to-back shots by Davis and Barajas in the second inning, and Davis' solo homer in the fourth for a 4-1 lead. It was the first multihomer game of Davis' 16-game career.
Before Friday's game, Jerry Manuel was peppered with questions regarding his lineup, which he left relatively intact. Manuel pointed to the recent success of David Wright as important enough not to tinker with the other pieces. Wright batted .320 (8-for-25) during the six-game road trip with four home runs and seven RBIs.
"I kind of like where David is sitting right now," Manuel said. "I continue to believe that this is the right setup for us so far. I think that [Bay] will eventually get going for us, so I'm going to try and be patient with this as much as I can."
