Pelfrey hit from all sides

PHOENIX -- Mike Pelfrey wore a black compression sleeve on his right elbow and a look of remorse on his face Saturday night after the Mets fell to the Diamondbacks, 6-4, at Chase Field.

Pelfrey drew some unwanted attention before his start by reportedly saying it was "unrealistic" to think the Mets had a chance to contend this season. That involved a pregame meeting in the manager's office, which he requested, to "clear the air" over any misunderstanding.

"Obviously I said something that was misinterpreted," Pelfrey said after the game. "I didn't think I said a negative thing. I thought it was positive and I thought it got taken out of context. I'll take the blame for that. I think the organization is headed in the right direction."

A few hours after the meeting, just when Pelfrey was on the verge of erasing some of that negativity, disaster struck in the form of a line drive off the bat of Arizona's Gerardo Parra. That knocked Pelfrey out of the game in the fifth inning. X-rays were negative, and the Mets diagnosed him as day-to-day with a contusion of the right elbow.

Pelfrey had a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning when Parra opened with a liner that caromed off his right elbow with such force that the ball ricocheted to shortstop Ruben Tejada. When Terry Collins and trainer Ray Ramirez rushed out, Pelfrey tried to persuade them to let him stay. But a nasty bruise already had begun to form and Collins ushered him off the mound. Pelfrey ultimately agreed with the move.

"I wanted a warm-up pitch, that's it," Pelfrey said. "But there was some initial swelling and it was kind of right on the bone. When you're out there competing, you don't really use your head sometimes. It was the right thing to do."

Before the game, Collins said he did not think Pelfrey needed to apologize for his remarks. But the pitcher sought out a few players anyway, including David Wright, who always has been one of Pelfrey's biggest supporters. Wright was more concerned about Pelfrey's elbow than comments he described as a "non-issue."

Said Wright: "This isn't a big deal. Obviously, it got blown way out of proportion. We know what kind of guy he is and we know what kind of teammate he is, and I know that I speak for the entire clubhouse when I say that we have his back. He's a guy that you want taking the ball every fifth day."

A week ago, the Mets were of the opinion that Pelfrey was worth bringing back for next season, even at a projected salary of roughly $6 million. As one of the team's decision-makers put it, Pelfrey's price tag had not yet exceeded his value.

While that evaluation process is far from over, Pelfrey helped himself with a decent outing before the injury, which he doesn't believe will force him to miss a start.

"The elbow feels good," said Pelfrey, who allowed four hits and two runs in four innings-plus. "The frustrating part was I thought I had good stuff for the first time in six or seven starts. It ---- that it ended like that."

As soon as Pelfrey disappeared, so did his lead. In came D.J. Carrasco, and after Daniel Hudson's bunt, Carrasco drilled Willie Bloomquist on the left shoulder. Ryan Roberts followed by hammering the next pitch over the leftfield wall for a three-run homer that put the Diamondbacks in front to stay.

The Mets had tied the score at 2 in the second inning on Tejada's two-run double and built a 4-2 lead in the fourth. Mike Baxter, making his second start, smashed an RBI triple to center and Pelfrey helped himself with a run-scoring single, raising his average to .071 (3-for-42). One inning later, he was knocked out.

"Tough day for him today," Collins said. "He came to the ballpark getting ready to pitch and gets hammered with things he didn't expect. Then he gets hit with a line drive on one of the days he has some of his best stuff."