Mike Pelfrey has bounced back from his worst season as a pro with perhaps the most surprising start from the Mets’ rotation this season. He brilliantly played the role of stopper in yesterday’s 5-4 victory over the Giants, and while Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ fielding gaffe in the top of the ninth robbed Pelfrey of a win, it couldn’t detract from a gem of an outing.
“He pitched like the Mike Pelfrey we know he can be,’’ said manager Terry Collins, who watched Pelfrey hold the Giants to a single run in eight innings, the longest outing by a Mets starter this year. He shaved his ERA to 2.29, the best of any Mets starter and a vast improvement over last year’s 7-13, 4.74 ERA disappointment.
Pelfrey attributed the change to newfound maturity, while Collins chalked it up to an improved delivery. Whatever the case, it has worked wonders.
“Hopefully I’ve matured a little bit, and I’ve learned,’’ said Pelfrey. “In my last start, my fastball command wasn’t very good, and I was able to go to the curveball, go to the split and I was able to make a good day of it. [Yesterday] the fastball command was good. If I have good fastball command, good things will happen.
“It was a big win, but it probably would’ve been an even worse loss if we’d lost that game with the lead and that situation. … It’s a huge game to stop that little skid we were on,’’ added Pelfrey, who handed a 4-1 lead over to closer Frank Francisco in the ninth inning.
Francisco allowed three of the Giants’ first four hitters to reach, cutting the lead to 4-2. Pelfrey was in the training room when, with Jon Rauch on the mound, Nieuwenhuis misplayed a fly ball to allow two runs to score, leaving the game tied at 4-4.
The Mets eventually plated the winner on Buster Posey’s throwing error, a fitting end to a game filled with mistakes. But Pelfrey, who made precious few of them, was dominant from the start.
“We were able to throw four pitches pretty much at will to any location,’’ catcher Josh Thole said. “He pitched just as good as I’ve ever seen him pitch.”
Collins had said Pelfrey’s new delivery has given him better life on his fastball, and he has regained his sinker as a go-to out pitch.
“[My splitter] was good for the first time in a long time. That’s a pitch I have to keep down to get good results with,’’ said Pelfrey, who credited his quickened pace on the mound and new delivery. “I felt like I’m a lot freer and the velocity has been better. The sinker’s been great and that’s a product of [getting] my hand on top of the ball. It’s been pretty good.
“For the most part, I’ve been on top of balls, they have great movement, good sink. That’s important for me.’’