Ike Davis provided a spark for the Mets last night. But the consistent starting pitching of the past five games — one turn through the rotation — is the reason the Mets and their fans should start feeling some optimism about their team’s chances.
A funny thing happened after Jon Niese gave up five runs over five innings in Colorado on Wednesday night: Mets starting pitchers have kept their team in every ballgame. Though the Mets have yet to win a series — or two games in a row — they have taken three of five from the Rockies, Cardinals and Cubs. No reason to start talking World Series, but at least a hint of a smile for the all fans who screamed for the Mets to add another starter this offseason.
Each man in the rotation — Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine, Johan Santana and Niese — gave their team a chance to win. The fact they are 3-2 in this stretch points to an anemic offense that put up seven runs in 38 innings while the Mets were in St. Louis. Davis could help that; the Mets are banking on it. But the offense won’t be at full bore until Carlos Beltran is back in the lineup, Jose Reyes is at full speed, and Jason Bay can get over some early-season nerves.
There is no spark for this Mets rotation. What you see right now is what you get, assuming they stay healthy. The potential “Ike Davis” for the Mets rotation is Jenrry Mejia, and because he is in the big-league bullpen, he won’t be available to fill in if a starter should one put up the pitching equivalent of what Mike Jacobs and Fernando Tatis were doing at the plate.
Pelfrey started the trend with seven shutout innings against the Rockies that helped the Mets prevent a sweep in Colorado. Perez followed with a hard-luck no-decision when he left his start in St. Louis with a 1-0 lead, one out in the seventh and a runner on second. The bullpen cost him the win by giving up four runs that inning, perhaps paying back Perez for having to swallow so many of the innings he should have eaten up over the past season-plus.
Then it was Johan Santana’s turn, and the ace, who was shelled in his prior start against the lowly Nationals, shut out the Cardinals for seven innings. But that game wasn’t decided until 13 innings later, so Santana’s stellar start was easily forgotten.
John Maine is still the furthest away, but he battled for five innings and 115 pitches against the Cardinals. And if not for a three-run mistake to Ryan Ludwick, it would have gone down as a much more notable performance. To Maine’s credit, he was trying to convince manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen to let him go out for the sixth to give the tired arms in the bullpen a break after 20 innings on Saturday.
Niese, too, was far from perfect last night in the Mets’ 6-1 win. But he worked his way out of two jams in the fourth and fifth innings before being charged with an unearned run after Fernando Nieve replaced him on the mound. But Niese gave the Mets’ offense enough time to wake up from its slumber and put five runs across the board in the seventh inning to open the 10-game homestand with a win.
Tonight, the ball goes back to Pelfrey, who earned the save in the 20-inning win between the two starts. And he, perhaps, is the Mets’ best chance to find a No. 2 starter. Pelfrey is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and could be ready to make the leap the Mets desperately need him to. To become the guy they can count on behind Santana in a series. It was a feeling they obviously did not have at the start of the season when they moved Pelfrey down in the rotation to keep him away from the Marlins, who have owned him.
But maybe things are changing for Pelfrey and the rest of the rotation. It was one turn through, but even this — four runs over five starts and 31 innings (1.16 ERA) — seemed far-fetched a week ago.
The Mets needed Davis last night to energize the team and the fans. But they need the rotation if one night of excitement can stretch through the summer.
