Perez closes book on his season; maybe his Mets tenure, too

If Sunday was Oliver Perez's last day in a Mets uniform, it was a fitting goodbye performance from the $36-million lefthander. He had pitched only twice in 56 games, and not since Sept. 6 in Washington, before Jerry Manuel called on him for the 14th inning.

As expected, Perez entered to a hail of loud boos from the small crowd that remained at Citi Field. Perez opened by striking out Ian Desmond - pumping his fist as he did so - but followed that by drilling Adam Kennedy. He then walked the next two batters to load the bases before walking Justin Maxwell - who was hitting .144 - to force in the go-ahead run in the Nationals' 2-1 win.

That brought out Manuel, and Perez (0-5, 6.80 ERA) was jeered again as he jogged to the dugout, where he slammed down his glove. Perez bolted the clubhouse before speaking to reporters, but Manuel expressed regret afterward for using him after such a long layoff.

"I felt bad that we had to put Ollie in a situation like that," Manuel said. "We had no choice. We had nothing left. He hadn't pitched in a while and that was a tough situation for him. I think out of anything, that bothered me the most."

After Saturday's game, Manuel hinted that he could use R.A. Dickey again in the finale, but he chose not to. And if he truly felt bad about forcing Perez into that spot, there were plenty of other chances earlier in the season that Manuel passed on.

Pelfrey stuck on 15 wins

Mike Pelfrey allowed one run in seven innings, but in a familiar story line this season, the Mets again did virtually nothing offensively. Pelfrey (15-9) had four strikeouts to increase his career-best total to 113 in 204 innings. He also went at least seven innings for the fifth straight start and finished with a 3.66 ERA, the lowest of his career.

"It would have been nice to get a W," Pelfrey said, "but I'm happy that I finished on a good note. That was important."