Mets' streak ends at 35 scoreless innings; Igarashi gives up 2-run HR to lose in ninth

MILWAUKEE - Mike Pelfrey had a simple answer when asked about his motivation to keep the Mets' shutout streak alive this week.

"I didn't want to be that guy," Pelfrey said.

Neither did Johan Santana, and he kept up his end of the bargain Friday with eight more scoreless innings against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo, who kept the Mets off the scoreboard for nine full innings.

But "that guy" turned out to be Ryota Igarashi. On his 31st birthday, he allowed a two-out, two-run homer by Corey Hart in the ninth that handed the Mets a 2-0 loss at Miller Park.

With one swing, the Mets' scoreless-innings streak ended at 35, their longest since the team record of 42 in 1969. Hart's blast was the first home run allowed by the Mets in 86 innings.

"It's unfortunate because Johan was brilliant tonight," Jerry Manuel said. "It was an excellent, excellent pitching duel."

Manuel took out Santana after 105 pitches. The manager let him bat in the eighth inning, at the 95-pitch mark, and he smacked a two-out double into the right-centerfield gap. But Gallardo struck out Jose Reyes to strand Santana, who pitched a perfect eighth before being reduced to spectator status.

"The way everything was going - the situation, the atmosphere, everything - you don't want to come out of the game for sure," Santana said. "But at the same time, we're playing baseball and trying to win the ballgame."

The Mets stranded two runners in the top of the ninth when Angel Pagan took a questionable called third strike. But Manuel didn't hesitate when asked if he considered letting Santana come back out for the ninth.

"No, not at all," Manuel said. "Once he hit the double and fought through the eighth, I didn't think it would be a good move. I thought [Prince] Fielder was seeing him pretty good anyway. I didn't want to chance him to lose that ballgame after the way he had performed."

So Manuel used Pedro Feliciano leading off the ninth against Fielder, who grounded out, and that's when he called on Igarashi. Reyes made a diving stop of Ryan Braun's grounder, but his one-hop throw was a split-second late. Igarashi then got Casey McGehee to pop up but left a 1-and-1 splitter up to Hart, who hammered it over the left-centerfield wall.

"It was an important situation, obviously, and I can't make a mistake," Igarashi said through an interpreter. "In that situation, the hitter was able to capitalize on my mistake."

Not the way anyone wants to celebrate a 31st birthday, and Igarashi took it hard. After the game, he sat silently at his locker, his back to the rest of the clubhouse, before he eventually turned around to take questions.

But Igarashi was not alone. It was a very quiet room overall, and Santana clearly was frustrated. He usually is at his locker immediately after the game, but on this night, he may have needed a little extra time.

The Mets' starters are 6-0 with a 1.07 ERA in their last 11 games. But that was of little consolation to Santana, who lowered his own ERA to 3.03 and did not have a win to show for it. The streak had little meaning, either.

"I knew today was a new day and we have to find ways to win another game," Santana said. "As long as we win games, it doesn't matter. We had a nice run and tonight we did a great job, but it wasn't good enough to win another game. We have to come back tomorrow and start over again."

The Mets had their best opportunity to score in the third inning, loading the bases with none out. But Reyes grounded into a forceout at the plate and Alex Cora hit into a double play.

Said Jeff Francoeur, "I guess it was our turn to get shut out."