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Cubs-Mets Preview

Apr 20, 2010 - 4:28 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Chicago (5-7) at New York (4-8), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Heading into 2010, the New York Mets were hoping Mike Pelfrey could show better consistency while adding some depth to the back of the rotation.

Instead, he's turned into their most reliable starter, and even showed he can close.

Pelfrey will take the mound for the third time in six days as the Mets host the struggling Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

The Mets (5-8) dropped Pelfrey (2-0, 1.29 ERA) to fourth in the rotation after he went 10-12 with a 5.03 ERA last year, posting a 1-4 record and 6.18 ERA in his final seven starts.

The right-hander has looked more like an ace so far, leading the team in wins while posting the lowest ERA of any member of the rotation. He came up big again Saturday, getting his first career save in a 2-1, 20-inning marathon win at St. Louis.

"I could have gone as long as I had to. Physically, I felt good," said Pelfrey, who pitched a side session earlier in the day and asked manager Jerry Manuel to play Saturday.

Pelfrey was also superb in his last start Thursday, scattering five hits with six strikeouts over seven innings of a 5-0 win at Colorado.

"What we saw in spring training was his concentrated effort to get those secondary pitches down," Manuel told the team's official website. "He got them to where he felt very comfortable with them."

Pelfrey won his only career start against the Cubs (5-8), yielding one run in eight innings of a 4-2 win at Citi Field on Sept. 6. He'll try to help the Mets win consecutive games for the first time this season after they used a five-run seventh inning in a 6-1 win Monday to open this four-game series.

New York has a .293 batting average in winning four of the last five meetings.

Rookie Ike Davis is looking to build on an impressive major-league debut. The first baseman went 2 for 4 with an RBI, hours after being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, where he was hitting .364.

"He didn't appear fazed. He seemed to be totally under control. Cool," Manuel said of Davis, the 18th overall selection in the 2008 draft.

The Cubs are on a three-game losing streak, during which they've scored six runs and hit .236. The bullpen has also been a major problem, losing two of the last three with a 6.10 ERA after James Russell and Jeff Samardzija combined to give up all five runs in the seventh Monday.

"The last three games we played have been the same story," manager Lou Piniella said. "We don't score runs and then the bullpen" failed.

Carlos Zambrano (1-1, 9.45) will take the mound looking to rebound from a rough outing. The fiery right-hander gave up four runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts in five innings while throwing a season-high 121 pitches in an 8-6 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Zambrano saw his ERA drop from 11.88, but dealt with cramps in his calf and right index finger - a recurring theme in recent years.

Zambrano is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in his last three starts against the Mets, but didn't get much help in his only start in New York on Sept. 4. Zambrano allowed one run and three hits with seven strikeouts in six innings yet received no runs of support or a decision in a 6-2 loss.