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Pelfrey, Delgado propel Mets past Astros

Aug 26, 2008 - 4:12 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- While the New York Mets might have some concerns about replacing John Maine, Mike Pelfrey has consistently given them very little to be nervous about.

Pelfrey fired a six-hitter for his second straight complete game as the Mets salvaged a split of their four-game series against the Houston Astros with a 9-1 victory on Monday night.

Carlos Delgado hit a pair of three-run home runs as the Mets won for the 11th time in 14 games and will head into their big two-game series at Philadelphia with sole possession of first place for the 12th consecutive day. Jose Reyes added a two-run triple and rookie Daniel Murphy also lifted a sacrifice fly for New York, which is 14-5 since getting swept in Houston on August 1-3.

Losses in New York's previous two games that featured a rough start by Maine and bullpen failures dwindled the lead to just one-half game, but thanks to another strong showing by Pelfrey, the Mets will make head out on their eight-game road trip on positive note.

"It's very big for us," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "We now go into a two-game series with our rival in the East, both our rivals. We got five games now with the top two teams in the East and to go with a win is huge for us. And swinging the bats the way we did was good."

Coming off his first career complete game on Wednesday, Pelfrey appeared even sharper in this one.

When he was not striking batters out, Pelfrey (13-8) was getting them to ground out or line out to his infielders, who continued to provide solid defense. They turned double plays in the second, fourth and seventh inning as Pelfrey recorded 16 outs on the ground with a very sharp sinking fastball that he knew early was going to be very effective.

"I had some huge double plays tonight," Pelfrey said. "My sinker was very, very good tonight and the guys behind me played great defense. So anytime that you mix those two together, it's going to be good."

"He's throwing some filthy stuff out there right now," Manuel said. "When you see good major league hitters react the way they do when they see one of his pitches - (it) is something to see."

Pelfrey improved to 11-2 in his last 17 starts since losing to Florida on May 26 and did not record an out in the outfield until Lance Berkman ended the seventh with a first-pitch flyout to center.

The seventh also saw one of Pelfrey's most impressive confrontations of the night. He got ahead of Ty Wigginton 1-2 but capped an 11-pitch encounter with the former Met by getting him to swing at a 95 mile-per-hour fastball.

"The guy throws predominantly all fastballs," Wigginton said. "Not too many guys can go (with) fastballs against major league teams."

The righthander opened the ninth by allowing consecutive one-out singles to pinch hitter David Newhan and Darin Erstad, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Dan Warthen. He lost the shutout bid when Wigginton grounded out to Delgado but finished the night easily.

"That's probably as good a performance as I've seen against us this year," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "He was just a monster tonight."

Pelfrey's latest strong performance came hours after the Mets put Maine back on the disabled list. Maine was rocked for eight runs Saturday and he could miss the remainder of the season with a bone spur in his right shoulder.

"John Maine's a big part of this team," Pelfrey said. "We can't replace him.The other guys in the rotation, we have to step up and do more than what we've done."

Pelfrey just missed finishing New York's fifth shutout in 18 games but also became the first Met to toss consecutive complete games since Rick Reed opened the 2001 season. Pelfrey is the first the Met to win consecutive complete games since Bret Saberhagen in June 1995.

It also will cause the Mets not to limit his innings. The Mets had considered it but after seeing Pelfrey not labor through 108 pitches, Manuel said Pelfrey's next start will be against Florida on Saturday.

The Mets backed Pelfrey by continuing to score first-inning runs. Reyes opened the game with a single to left, David Wright drew a one-out walk and Delgado pulled a 1-0 pitch down the left field line and just over the fence.

"I hit some balls good tonight," Delgado said. "I got some good swings."

New York knocked out Brian Moehler in the sixth after he gave up consecutive base hits to Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church. They went up 4-0 on Murphy's sacrifice fly and then put the game out of reach when Delgado hit a 1-2 slider over the center field wall for his 46th career multi homer game.

"A home run is a home run," said Moehler, a former teammate of Delgado in Florida. "It's not a fluke. He's a great player. He's probably one of the most prepared guys as far as scouting pitchers.

Moehler lasted 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs and six hits. He failed to equal a career high with six straight wins as he lost for the first time in Atlanta.

Pelfrey also scored on Reyes' two-run triple in the eighth to cap the scoring.