Pelfrey, Mets top Braves to end skid

ATLANTA - Coincidence or not, it took an appearance by Jeff Wilpon for the Mets to snap a five-game losing streak with last night's 3-2 victory over the Braves at Turner Field.

Mike Pelfrey obviously helped by holding Atlanta to two runs in 72/3 innings, Rod Barajas delivered a two-run double and the bullpen sealed the rotation's first win in 16 games this month.

Wilpon, who commandeered the manager's office for a meeting of the team's decision-makers before the game, was back in there afterward as well. This time, though, it was to shake Jerry Manuel's hand. When Wilpon was told by reporters that he now has to abide by superstition and stay with the Mets until they lose again, he replied, "I'll be here again tomorrow."

And so will Manuel. When it was suggested to him that Wilpon might need to stick around for a while, he laughed and said, "I don't know what the plan is. But whatever it takes."

Truth is, Pelfrey (5-1) had a much bigger impact than Wilpon in quieting the Braves for his first win since April 25. He claimed to be oblivious to the activities before the game and the media frenzy generated by Wilpon's lurking around.

"I don't pay attention to that," Pelfrey said. "It's out of my pay grade. I had a job to do today and I went out there and competed."

The Mets' rotation had been 0-6 with a 6.98 ERA in May, and the 15-game winless streak was the longest since 1982, when Ed Lynch, Rick Ownbey, Charlie Puleo, Craig Swan and Pat Zachry also went 15 games without a win.

Barajas' double gave the Mets their first lead since Thursday in Florida, a span of 32 innings. Chris Carter, getting a second straight start in the No. 4 spot, drove in the last run with a groundout in the sixth.

"I didn't know there was a meeting," Barajas said. "All we can take care of is what happens on the field. Whether it was a close game or a rout, we had to put a stop to what was going on. No matter what's going on or what people are saying, you've got to get your job done."

Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez did theirs for the Mets, who earned only their fifth win in 17 road games this season. Eric Hinske homered for the Braves and Chipper Jones added a sacrifice fly, but Feliciano struck out Brian McCann with the bases loaded to end the eighth and K-Rod pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

Wilpon's arrival was not the only surprise for the Mets yesterday. Manuel returned Carter to the cleanup spot for the second straight day and again sat Jeff Francoeur despite the opportunity for the rightfielder to face his former team.

So what was supposed to be a mental health day for the series finale in Florida turned into a more extended two-game break for the slumping Francoeur, who entered yesterday in an 0-for-16 skid and went 0-for-1 last night.

As for the slight of sitting in Atlanta, where Francoeur grew up and lives during the offseason, he shrugged. "You want to play every day, regardless of whether you're home or not," Francoeur said. "If we were in Pittsburgh today, I'd want to play."

Francoeur will be back in rightfield tonight, but after Carter's double and RBI groundout, Manuel plans to start him in left and give Jason Bay a day off. The manager pulled Carter for defensive purposes in the sixth.

Notes & quotes: Ryota Igarashi completed his second Class A rehab appearance and will report to Triple-A Buffalo today with the expectation he could be ready to rejoin the Mets by the weekend. Igarashi allowed one hit in two scoreless innings, struck out one and did not walk a batter.