MILWAUKEE — Fernando Nieve’s memory of his last start at Miller Park mostly relates to the upset stomach that kept him running to the bathroom.
The goal for Nieve today: Keep his food and pitch count down. The Mets are hoping they can get 80 pitches from the right-hander, and Nieve believes that can translate into six solid innings.
“The main thing is get ahead in the count and make the hitter swing early,” Nieve said yesterday.
In 27 relief appearances this season, Nieve is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA. He makes no bones about the fact he views today’s start, his first of the season, as an audition for the starting rotation, as John Maine and Jon Niese sit on the disabled list and Oliver Perez has been banished to situational relief.
Nieve battled Niese for the final spot in the rotation in spring training and lost the competition, in part, because Manuel viewed him as a bullpen asset — a description that does not fit Niese.
Nieve points to the fact the Mets have solidified their bullpen, with the emergence of Jenrry Mejia and Ryota Igarashi, as a reason he should now be considered for a full-time starting gig.
Last season, with only one of his eight appearances out of the bullpen, he was 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA. “We had some problems in the beginning with a person who could do the reliever stuff, but now I have a chance I’ve been waiting for,” Nieve said. “So I’m going to try to do the same as the beginning of the season when I was a reliever. I hope to do a good job and they’ll keep me in the rotation.”
Nieve was Mr. Dependability for the Mets in April, but has struggled lately. Nieve pointed to a game in Florida two weeks ago, when he threw a wild pitch and allowed the winning run to score, as the start of his problems.