With victories in his last three starts and five of his last six, Chien-Ming Wang is rolling. But pitching coach Ron Guidry theorized yesterday that we might not have seen the best of Wang (6-4, 3.49) just yet.
“His stuff could probably still get better,” Guidry said.
After starting the season on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, Wang struggled through a 1-3 start. Since a May 10 loss in Texas, though, he has allowed only 11 earned runs over six starts. Guidry said Wang was “a month late” in getting up to speed.
Wang starts the Subway Series finale tonight opposite the Mets’ Orlando Hernandez, and there’s no better stage for the 27-year-old sinkerballer. Despite the arrival of future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, Guidry wants Wang to maintain the mentality of a staff ace that he developed in 2006. The pitching coach said it’s obvious that he comprehends his responsibilities by the way his teammates tease him and how he retaliates.
“Having [Clemens] here is outstanding, because he’s going to help everybody else,” Guidry said. “But [Wang] knows what his role is on this team. Because [Clemens] is not going to be here for years and years. [Wang] is going to be here. So that’s what he has to understand. And he understands it a lot better.”
Wang’s teammates used to mispronounce his last name, rhyming it with “gang” instead of “gong.” But after a complete-game victory over Chicago on June 6, they’ve been adding a title when addressing him lately.
“Well, he pitched nine innings, we’ve got to call him Mr. Wang,” Guidry said in mock seriousness.
Guidry said Wang’s resurgence is based on him having more faith in his pitches and getting out of innings quicker. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s currently fourth in the AL and eighth in the majors in pitches per inning among qualifying starters who have thrown 50 innings with 14.2. Hernandez, a notorious high-wire artist, is 57th in the majors at 15.7 pitches per inning.
“He’s throwing pitches over the plate and he’s not worried about whether they hit them or not,” Guidry said. “When you’re pitching well and the team’s playing well, you have a lot more confidence of not making one mistake to get beat.”
Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson said that’s exactly what El Duque’s predicament was on June 11 in Los Angeles, when he allowed five runs (four earned) over 5 2/3 innings. He had allowed only two earned runs in 32 innings entering that start.
“He was a pitch or two away from spinning up another [shutout],” Peterson said. “Typically, when you see four- or five-run outing from a pitcher as opposed to a one- or two-run outing or a no-run outing, it’s not 10 or 15 pitches.
“It’s one or two pitches. That’s why you always say, geez, wouldn’t it be nice to have one mulligan?”
michael.morrissey@nypost.com