Game #31: Mets 5, Giants 2

Mike Pelfrey went seven and two-thirds innings and allowed two runs, one of them earned, on four hits and two walks. (NYTimes.com)

With two swings of the bat, New York resurrected its offense and avoided an embarrassing sweep (perhaps "embarrassing sweep" is oxymoronish...).

Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran came through at the plate with 2 RBIs each and gave Mike Pelfrey the lead he needed, as the Mets took Thursday afternoon's finale from the Giants, 5-2.

The Good Stuff:

• The real Pelf Pelfrey please stood up, please stood up, please stood up. Mike finally showed why he was the Opening Day starter for the orange and blue with his longest outing of the year, 7 2/3 innings. He allowed just four hits and one earned run, a solo shot to Mike Fontenot in the 4th (the second run was unearned), while walking 2 and striking out 5.
• Two Mets helped the offense make up for lost time against SF starter Jonathan Sanchez. Jose Reyes's two-run triple capped off a 3-run 2nd (the first run came in on a Ronnie Paulino double play), while Carlos Beltran just cleared the tall left field fence in the 5th for two more. Both Reyes and Beltran will likely be gone after this year, and Reyes might not even make it the whole season if what San Fran indicates is true. But it's days like today that make Met fans smile and remember why we came within a game of the World Series in 2006 and were contenders again in '07 and '08 (never mind how those seasons ended...90% of the time it was great).

The Bad Stuff:

• Only Fransisco Rodriguez can make a three-run lead seem small. And boy, did he today: after overseeing the last out of the 8th (Paulino caught Manny Burriss stealing at second), K-Rod walked two and loaded the bases before getting the last two Giants to strike out and ground out. Frankie hasn't had a clean save all season, and even though he's converted 7 straight and 7 of 8 overall, one of these days this walking on the tightrope will catch up to him like it did last Fourth of July weekend in Washington.
• Also catching the eye in a bad way were two fielding errors, throwing errors by Chin-lung Hu and Jose Reyes. Reyes' misfire came in the 5th and eventually lead to a San Fran run.

Final Analysis:
Nice win. NY did everything they were supposed to and sent the Giants back home without their brooms. They've been inconsistent this year, but when the Amazin' Mets are on, they're on.

Let's hope they can keep it on for this weekend when the nostalgia tour continues: one former New York team heads back home, and another comes right in in the shape of the L.A. Dodgers. This is a rare chance for Mets fans to see a franchise even more dysfunctional than we are; sure, we're in debt up to the top of Mr. Met's head, but at least we're not a ward of the League. See? There still are things to be glad about in Queens.

MM