MET NOTES
SAN DIEGO – Carlos Beltran came back to start last night’s game. But he couldn’t play all nine innings. He said he will undergo an MRI today, which will determine the severity of his ailing right hamstring. Beltran, the Mets’ $119 million center fielder, missed four-plus games with the hamstring before last night. He played the first 4 ½ frames but left before the bottom of the fifth.
“I feel like it wasn’t better and I decided to tell Willie [Randolph] to take me out because I wasn’t going to be able to make it,” Beltran said.
Beltran, who went 1-for-2 with a single in his two at-bats, was replaced in center by Endy Chavez.
Cliff Floyd, who had missed two-plus games with a left ribcage strain, returned last night and was able to play the whole way.
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Last night, former Mets star Mike Piazza squared off against his old team. The 37-year-old Piazza, who went 0-for-3 and is now hitting .214 with a homer and four RBIs, raved before the game about his tenure with the Padres.
“So far it’s been great,” he said. “I mean, just look around you. There’s a lot to like. It’s a beautiful stadium and the personnel here are great, and the fans have really been very kind to me. I’m excited to be working with some really good young players, so I feel like I’ve taken on a couple of roles here, and the response has been great and I’m enjoying it.
“Hopefully I can play a little better. But all in all, it’s been a great experience so far and hopefully we’ll play better down the stretch.”
Piazza initially said in pregame that he was “excited” to play the Mets last night, but later admitted to having some butterflies, saying “I’m a little nervous.”
Piazza also said there was “nothing but great things to say” about the Mets and said parting with the team after last season “just seemed pretty mutual.”
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Mike Pelfrey, the Mets’ No. 1 draft pick from last year, delivered his third straight strong outing in Single-A St. Lucie on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Pelfrey went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks while taking the loss. He struck out five. For the year, the righthander is 1-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings.
St. Lucie manager Gary Carter said yesterday he believed Pelfrey “topped out at 96 [Wednesday] night.” He said Pelfrey’s pitch count is “on no more than 75 right now. That could escalate to 85, but his pitch count was around that [Wednesday].”
