Ollie strong, but Valdes allows grand slam in 7th

ST. LOUIS - Oliver Perez made the Cardinals, and especially three-time MVP Albert Pujols, look weak and vulnerable for nearly seven innings Friday night at Busch Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Mets, when Perez was through, their best chance of holding on for a victory was hooked up to an IV drip in the visitors' clubhouse.

Pedro Feliciano, who led the majors in appearances in the previous two years, was unavailable for a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning because of "stomach issues." Soon afterward, the result made Jerry Manuel sick.

"If Feliciano is not available, you've got to go with what you think is the right move," Manuel said.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Manuel called on Raul Valdes, the lefthander-on-loan from the Mexican League, to face the switch-hitting Felipe Lopez, and he drilled a grand slam over the leftfield wall to doom the Mets in a 4-3 loss.

Manuel said he would have liked to use Feliciano against Lopez, who was 1-for-5 from the right side this year, but knew he was out of commission early on.

"I wish it was me," Feliciano said. "Tomorrow, I'll be there."

That's a little late to save Perez, however, and it is unclear how many more of these losses Manuel can suffer before he is shown the door.

The Mets' bullpen entered Friday's game with a 1.95 ERA, second only to the White Sox (1.89) in the majors, but they had an epic failure in the seventh inning.

Manuel first called on Fernando Nieve to replace Perez with one out and the tying run at second base, but he lost 0-and-2 counts on the next two pinch hitters. Nieve nailed Skip Schumaker on the back foot and walked Matt Holliday, who did not start because of his own stomach problems.

In came Valdes, and the rookie's streak of scoreless innings came to a crashing halt when he hung a 2-and-1 slider to Lopez. He had hit his last grand slam in 2008 - against the Mets' Aaron Heilman.

"That pitch was elevated, it was middle up," catcher Rod Barajas said. "He can hit those. A lot of people can hit those."

The Mets aren't winning, but they are showing a little more resilience. In the ninth, they got the tying run to second base after a pinch RBI single by Frank Catalanotto and a run-scoring groundout by Jose Reyes. But Luis Castillo stranded Angel Pagan at second when he bounced out to end the game.

"It's frustrating, no doubt about it," Manuel said. "You have to applaud the fact that we have given ourselves a shot to win. I think if we continue to do that, it will eventually turn for us. If we continue to keep this attitude and fight and bring it every day, some things are going to go our way."

A week earlier, Perez couldn't handle the Nationals, but he pitched with poise and precision Friday, allowing four hits and one run in 61/3 innings. His fastball hovered in the range of 88 to 90 mph, but Perez located it effectively and kept the Cardinals off-balance with his slider, curve and changeup. He was at 97 pitches when Manuel pulled him, but he didn't fight it.

"That's not my decision," Perez said. "That's not my job."

Perez got Manuel creeping toward the top step in the first inning as Lopez led off with a double into the rightfield corner and Allen Craig walked. But Perez got Pujols to roll over an 88-mph fastball directly to David Wright, who stepped on third to start a double play.

"He had the ability to throw any pitch at any time," Barajas said. "You just can't get comfortable as a hitter."