Pelfrey’s Bar Mets-vah

Last night, Mike Pelfrey became a man…or more accurately THE MAN.

While Pelfrey’s ascension to pitching dominance has been brewing for the last 2 and 1/2 months or so, last night’s 6-3 complete game win over the lowly Braves was exactly what the Mets bullpen needed.

The Mets picked up their 8th win in 9 games on the strength of a 5 run first inning.

In the first, it was Mini Met Daniel Murphy that lead the charge.  Murphy, batting with 2 outs and the bases loaded, battled back from a 1-2 count (as he seemingly does every at bat) to hit a 2 run single up the middle.  The Braves helped the Mets in the frame with 2 errors and a third ball hit under Larry Jones’ glove  that could have been scored as an error.  For the second time in 2 nights, the Mets batted around in the first inning.

David Wright added a solo HR in the 5th, his 24th.

But it was Pelfrey’s strong & economical (108 pitches) performance that was the real story of the night.  With the bullpen overtaxed, missing confidence, and its closer, a complete game was a perfect elixir to the Mets problems.

Pelfrey has gone 10-2 since May 31.

“Mike has evolved into one of the bright young pitching stars in the National League,” Jerry Manuel said. “There’s no question about it. And I think he’ll continue to mature and develop with each outing. He’s been very impressive. From where he came early in the season, where we were questioning whether or not to have him on the staff, whether or not to keep him in the rotation, and he’s pretty much been a huge part of the success that we’ve had here.”