Game #10: Rockies 7, Mets 6

Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run home run in the 8th inning that proved to be the game winner. (NYTimes.com)

These Mets are turning into the Cardiac Kids...just not the good kind.

Mike Pelfrey only lasted into the 6th and the Rockies got 3 runs off Bobby Parnell in the 8th innings, giving Colorado a narrow 7-6 victory over New York.

The Bad Stuff:
How Pelfrey did depends on how you look at it: either it's bad stuff because he knew how shaky the bullpen is and couldn't last longer (he went over 100 pitches in 5 frames), or it's good stuff because you compare it to his first two lousy starts. If he turns out to be his old self after this one, you can say it's good. But for now, it's bad stuff.
Bobby Parnell. Enough said.
They say the middle is the best part of a sandwich, and if the Mets' offense tonight were a sandwich, it would be a brilliant roast beef jammed right in the middle of stale sourdough. With 2 on and 1 out in the 1st, the Amazin's could only bring home one. And in the 9th, they went down quietly, 1-2-3 against Rockies' closer Huston Street.

The Good Stuff:
Now on to that roast beef. Ike Davis kept his smoking start going, racking up an 11th RBI (which makes 9/10 games he's driven one in). David Wright went yard for the first time at Citi Field (2nd overall). Willie Harris got on the ball again with a two-run double in the 4th. Normally 6 runs should be enough; get the pitching better and it should be.
Take out Parnell and the bullpen was all right: Ryota Igarashi let one in, but it was charged to Pelfrey; he, Tim Byrdak, Jason Isringhausen (returning to the team after 12 years), and Pedro Beato combined for 2 2/3 scoreless relief.

Final Analysis:
It seems the bullpen is playing Hot Potato: whoever it stops on has to go out and screw things up. Tonight it was Bobby Parnell. Tomorrow night it could be Carrasco, or Beato, or K-Rod. Either way, the biggest problem facing this team 1/16 of the way through the season is relief pitching. Otherwise, things aren't horrible in Flushing: the offense shows flashes of greatness and Pelfrey kept us in it. Overall, it comes down to one glaring fact: averaging 6 runs a night is great, but it doesn't mean anything if the other guys average 7.

MM