Oliver Perez walked into Shea Stadium a shade before 5 p.m. yesterday.
The 25-year-old showed no signs of nerves as he accepted well wishes from various staff members in the hallway leading to the clubhouse. He wore a long-sleeve white T-Shirt with the “Air Jordan” logo on it.
Three hours later he delivered a Jordan-like performance in Game 7 of the NLCS, but his team could not finish what he started. The talk leading into the game centered around Perez lasting just a few innings, then turning it over to the bullpen. After all, he was pitching on three days’ rest, and Perez went 3-13 this season, the worst record of any Game 7 starter.
When he took the ball, though, none of it mattered. Perez went six innings, giving up four hits and one run. People questioned whether the Pirates castoff would have enough control to keep the Cardinals off the bases. His answer was emphatic – four strikeouts and just one unintentional walk. Of his 88 pitches, 61 were strikes.
“I was feeling good,” Perez said. “I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. Everybody was believing in me and that was a big start for me.”
The outing is Perez’ second of this postseason. He pitched Game 4 Sunday in St. Louis, but was nowhere near as spectacular as he was last night.
“I’m real proud of Oliver,” Willie Randolph said. “He did a tremendous job for us. He stepped up and, you know, just gave us more than we expected really, more than a quality start.”
No one could have predicted this when the Pirates traded Perez to the Mets at the end of July. He spent most of July pitching for Triple-A Indianapolis, and most of August with Triple-A Norfolk.
“I feel good [about] that,” Perez said. “Everybody knows it’s not how you start, but how you finish. Now I feel prepared to come and get ready for next year.”
The crowd of 56,357 was apprehensive early on. He eased their minds a bit when he struck out Preston Wilson looking on a 94-mph fastball. Perez used his blistering fastball effectively all night, hanging between 93 and 97 on the radar gun.
“I was feeling good and everybody tried to do everything to win the game,” Perez said. “We lost and we have to take it.”
