MIAMI – In his first time ripping through the Marlins lineup yesterday, Oliver Perez racked up five strikeouts and basically zero problems.
In yet another critical game for the Mets, the lefty was simply magnif icent.
Lasting deeper in the game than he has since May 13, Perez fired eight in nings, al lowing only one earned run on six hits. He didn’t walk anybody and he struck out eight in the Mets’ relatively easy 7-2 win over the Marlins.
“Stepped up at the right time for us,” Willie Randolph said.
Randolph said he believed his team was “in playoff mode right now,” and nobody would dispute the urgency of the games – with only eight left, the Mets stayed 1 ½ up on the Phillies in the NL East and dropped their magic number to seven, with the Phils winning.
An all-time collapse is still possible, but the Mets have won three of four, and yesterday was their safest victory in a while. After taking a 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth, they never saw their edge dip below four the rest of the game.
“We’re going to be OK,” Ramon Castro said.
Well, maybe. But they certainly have to continue getting victories. With his triumph, Perez is 15-9 on the year.
Seven pitchers in the NL have more wins.
“He’s had his ups and downs like some guys have on our staff,” Randolph said, “but for the most part he’s pitched some big games for us.”
Indeed, Perez can be risky.
He’s not exactly consistent – last Sunday, he lasted 42/3 innings against the Phillies.
But before that, Perez fired seven great frames against Atlanta, so he has two exceptional starts in his past three. And yesterday’s was pretty important.
“When he throws strikes, he’s tough,” Jose Reyes said.
Reyes had a monster game Friday (two hits, two walks, two RBIs) and yesterday he began well again.
Before the game, in an example of how Reyes is now among the elite, he wore a T-shirt bearing his own insignia.
The logo is designed by Nike, and Reyes has it on T-shirts and cleats.
It’s represented by his uniform number 7 interwoven with his initials and sports a crown on top.
Reyes led off yesterday’s game with a double, sparking the Mets to a two-run first inning. David Wright drove in Reyes with a single, and Wright later came home on Hanley Ramirez’s error for a 2-0 lead.
Three innings later, the Mets had two on and two outs and Ramon Castro up.
The backup catcher was getting his first start since coming off the disabled list Sept. 16, and in his second at-bat he smacked a three-run homer to left.
That made it 5-0, giving Perez a good cushion.
After Perez served up a run in the bottom of the fourth, the Mets pushed the lead to 6-1 in the seventh and extended it to 7-1 in the eighth.
They didn’t score in the ninth, but Moises Alou hit a single to bring his hitting streak to 26 games, which matches Wright for the Mets’ all-time record and Cleveland’s Casey Blake for the best in the majors this year.