Mets 6, Marlins 5: Rough Ride In San Juan Ends On A High Note

Can't get out of Puerto Rico soon enough. The Mets gave up 17 hits and somehow managed to win. AstroTurf is one of those things we wish we could disinvent, along with John Rocker, Jar-Jar Binks and VX poison gas. Be well, Jose Reyes.

Mike Pelfrey had his shortest outing of the season, his save in the 20-inning affair notwithstanding. He allowed 12 hits in 4.2 innings of work but only two went for extra bases. Alex Cora, the aforementioned AstroTurf and the BABIP gods did not work in Pelf's favor. At the same time, his location wasn't spot on, evidenced by the massive amount of dots in the middle to upper portion of this strike zone plot:

(click to embiggen)

Luckily, Elmer Fudd Dessens was around to clean up the mess. He recorded one out in the fifth inning and earned a "win", which is apparently some "statistic" that some still use to evaluate a pitcher's effectiveness. It's early, but Fudd is doing a decent Pat Mahomes circa 1999 impression -- low BABIP and high strand rate leading to a pretty ERA. If he can keep it going, great. But I expect wabbit season to end sooner rather than later. Ryota Igarashi struck out the side in his inning of work, an encouraging sign from a guy who hasn't impressed this season. Bobby Parnell and Frankie Rodriguez combined to throw the last three innings, giving up just one run despite allowing five baserunners.

Another game, another multi-hit performance from David Wright. He cracked two doubles tonight, including a first inning drive which plated two runs. He led the National League in FanGraphs WAR entering the game (3.4 WAR). Basically, if you are a fan who booed him earlier this year you need your head examined. Arkham Asylum is now accepting residents. Don't stop the voting. Also, Josh Thole had another pinch-hit RBI single, and utilizing this FanGraphs post, he is projected to hit .500 through the rest of the season.

Gary Cohen is usually unflappable but you could hear the irritation with the three hour, fifty-one minute game (plus rain delay) in his voice. When home plate umpire Tim McClelland took his time ringing up Jason Bay on strike three in the top of the ninth inning, a frustrated Gary said:

Thanks Tim McClelland for letting us know a half hour later.

Keith was a little cranky tonight as well but the duo, sans Ron, was still entertaining and informative. Hopefully Ronnie can join them in the booth as soon as possible.

Some off-topic news -- the Giants traded Bengie Molina, and his .257/.312/.332 slash line, to the Rangers today. Remember when people were clamoring for the Mets to sign him this past offseason? One Mets blog wanted to offer two years, $16 million. Now he's essentially one step away from retirement. One downside is McCovey Chronicles has lost some valuable material for future posts. Here is one early reaction from MCC:

I definitely saw Operation Dumbo Drop in theaters. A four game set with the Nationals awaits, with Johan Santana facing Livan Hernandez in DC tomorrow night. Stephen Strasburg pitches Saturday afternoon, which should cap an exciting day of sports beginning with Germany vs. Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals at 10:00 AM. Pour one out for Jose Reyes and his ailing back/oblique/whatever.

Poem by Howard Megdal

Pelf's start is shaky, Wright's bat is true
Thole pinch hits and again he comes through
Bay adds insurance, K-Rod gives us stress
And Mets defeat Marlins, whose defense is a mess

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Fish Stripes Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Francisco Rodriguez +34.6%, David Wright +16.7%
Big losers: Mike Pelfrey -20.5% (as pitcher), Rod Barajas -16.1%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brian Barden strikeout +21.3%
Teh sux0rest play: Jesus Feliciano double play -16.0%
Total pitcher WPA: +27.0%
Total batter WPA: +23.0%
GWRBI!: Jason Bay

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MookieTheCat; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.