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Pelfrey, Wright vault Mets past Nationals

Apr 16, 2008 - 3:33 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - On a night they celebrated the past, the New York Mets got vintage performances in the present from Mike Pelfrey and David Wright.

Pelfrey pitched seven scoreless innings and Wright drove in five runs with a home run and two doubles as the Mets defeated the Washington Nationals, 6-0, on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.

Each player on the Nationals and Mets wore No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier 61 years ago Tuesday. Robinson's widow, Rachel, was among those in attendance at a pre-game ceremony and tributes were played on the scoreboard throughout the game.

Jose Reyes finished a home run shy of the cycle in his return to the lineup for the Mets, who snapped a two-game skid. The speedy shortstop missed the last two games with a sore hamstring and showed no ill affects, cruising into third on a fifth-inning triple to left field.

"There's no pain at all," said Reyes, who was hitting just .205 prior to being sidelined. "Even before I got hurt, I started feeling better at the plate."

Wright delivered a two-run homer in the first, an RBI double in the seventh and a two-run double in the eighth. His five RBI were one short of his career high set twice previously.

"We've started off really slow (this season in regard to) getting that big hit," said Wright, who homered for a third straight game. "Today we got a couple of those. I really think that's contagious."

Pelfrey (2-0) was given the job of fifth starter by default when Orlando Hernandez went on the disabled list. The righthander had the longest outing of his career and became the first Mets pitcher other than Johan Santana to last at least seven innings this season.

"I feel like every time out I'm getting more comfortable," said Pelfrey, who struggled through a 3-8 record last season. "Even though the results didn't show it last year, I thought I was getting better."

Pelfrey allowed five hits, walked two and struck out four. The 24-year-old's toughest test came in the third inning when the Nationals loaded the bases with one out before Ryan Zimmerman popped out and Nick Johnson struck out.

Aaron Heilman worked out of a jam in the eighth. Duaner Sanchez, who was activated off the disabled list before the game, then allowed one hit in the ninth in his first appearance since 2006.

It was first meeting between the teams since the Mets traded outfielder Lastings Milledge to Washington for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church. Milledge doubled in the first but was thrown out trying to steal third.

"This was just another game to me," Milledge said. "We want to win. We didn't want to get caught up in coming back here to try to make anyone look bad. We just want to win."

Odalis Perez (0-3) took the loss, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings.

"He made a mistake to David in the first inning. Outside of that, he gave us a chance to win," Nationals manager Manny Acta said.

Nationals catcher Paul Lo Duca, who signed as a free agent after two seasons with the Mets, did not play after being hit in the hand with a pitch on Sunday.