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May 1, 2010 Mets 2010 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 24: Loss to Phillies

Phillies 10 Mets 0

Well, you can’t win ’em all.

After the Mets won in a laugher on Friday night, the Phillies returned the favor, pounding out 10 runs on 13 hits as Roy “Doc” Halladay surgically removed the New York offense.

Game Notes

Roy Halladay pitched a complete-game, 3-hit shutout, expending 118 pitches — including 88 strikes. That type of pitch count would get John Maine through 5 1/3 innings, I reckon.

Mike Pelfrey, on the other hand, was less than stellar, allowing 8 hits, a walk, and 6 runs in 4 innings, throwing 82 pitches. His ERA more than tripled in the process. Big Pelf had a hard time hitting spots, and when he had to give in, his fastball was a little too high and got too much of the plate. Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa was calling a very low strike zone, but Pelfrey couldn’t take advantage the way Halladay did.

That low zone irked several of the Mets hitters, and David Wright nearly got tossed for arguing with Kulpa in the top of the sixth. From the angle provided by the centerfield camera, several pitches did seem below the knees, but Halladay’s sinker was running down hard so it’s difficult to say whether they were balls as they passed the plate, or merely looked like balls by the time the catcher caught them.

Ike Davis drew the lone walk that Halladay allowed, and the three hits were struck by Wright, Jason Bay, and Henry Blanco. Blanco and Wright hit doubles, while Bay hit a single. Jose Reyes saw more pitches than any other Met with 24.

Although Blanco hit a double, seeing both he and Alex Cora in the lineup against the best pitcher in baseball didn’t exactly boost my hopes when the game began.

Blanco, by the way, is 5-for-11 lifetime against Sunday night starter Jamie Moyer.

Next Mets Game

The rubber match takes place on Sunday night at 8 PM and will be broadcast by ESPN. Johan Santana faces Jamie Moyer. Be sure to visit the ESPN Baseball Tonight Live Chat so you can read my witty comments during the game.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. KD May 1, 2010 at 8:37 pm
    I think I saw things a bit differently. I saw JR drop what should have been an out and then Cora drop what could have been at least a double play and a possible triple play as it was. Pelf gets out of the fourth when he was clearly upset that he hit the same spot three times and 2 were called for strikes. Once Roy gets a few runs the game is over anyway. Hopefully Johan steps up to the plate and our hitters make Moyer put the ball into the strike zone..
  2. alexSVK May 2, 2010 at 5:07 am
    KD, sure, you’re right. However, this is what Bill called a few days ago ‘regression towards mean’. A couple of pop-outs fall for hits, a few ground balls find holes, a fly-ball leaves the ballpark. Pelfrey’s babip was unsustainable low, now it got corrected.
  3. isuzudude May 2, 2010 at 9:33 am
    This is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. On Friday night the Mets got spectacular outfield catches by Francoeur and Bay to save Niese and propel the Mets to victory. However, on Saturday, Reyes and Cora dropped catches (which, in my eyes, were “could have been outs” and not “should have been outs”), and those drops allowed the Phillies to piece together a 6-run inning capped by Victorino’s home run. To me, that was the only mistake Pelfrey allowed the entire inning. After the two drops, Castro and Halladay followed with seeing-eye hits that could have been outs if defenders were positioned another foot or two in the direction the ball was hit. I’m not going to jump all over Pelf for giving up ground balls that found a hole. That was just more bad luck, or as Alex astutely put it, “regression toward the mean.” The Mets got all the breaks Friday, the Phils got all the breaks Saturday. Not to mention every ball the Mets hit hard yesterday was right at somebody (I thought Pagan got robbed 3 times). That’s just the way it goes.

    I wasn’t happy with how Jerry yanked Pelfrey from the game so fast, tho. Yeah, he gave up 6 runs in one inning, but was pinch hitting with GMJ in the top of the 5th with 1 out and nobody on really going to get the Mets back in the ball game? I would have much preferred Jerry send the message to Pelf that he’s the #2, and #2’s are allowed to try and right their own ship and go longer than 4 innings. His pitch count was only 82, and we all know how taxed the bullpen has been in the early goings this season. Why not send him back out there for another inning or two before conceding the game by bringing in Raul Valdes? I think that decision by Jerry sent the wrong message to Pelfrey, and further enforces the point that he has no clue how to manage a pitching staff.