ST. LOUIS — Mike Pelfrey asked for the ball in the 20th inning of last night’s Busch Stadium marathon and was thrilled to have his wish granted.
When it became evident Francisco Rodriguez was finished for the Mets after surrendering the tying run in the 19th inning, Pelfrey told pitching coach Dan Warthen he was ready. He then retreated to the clubhouse to get his glove.
When Pelfrey returned, Warthen told him he was going into the game.
The 20-inning battle ended with Pelfrey getting his first career save in the Mets’ 2-1 victory over the Cardinals.
Pelfrey became the first Mets’ full-time starting pitcher to earn a save since Dwight Gooden closed out a win on Sept. 19, 1989, against the Cubs.
“I kept trying to tell myself there was a reason I wasn’t hitting, because maybe I would get to pitch,” Pelfrey said.
The right-hander allowed a walk and a hit, but retired Ryan Ludwick on a grounder to second base, finally ending the game.
Earlier in the day, Pelfrey had thrown his normally scheduled side session, about 70 pitches in the bullpen. On Thursday, he fired seven shutout innings against the Rockies.
Despite blowing the save in the 19th, Rodriguez got credited with the win. As he sat at his locker afterward, the closer joked that he would give Pelfrey his win if Pelfrey would give him the save.
“I’m happy my boys picked me up,” said Rodriguez, who hadn’t appeared in a save situation this season.
Rodriguez said he was in no position to pitch a second inning because he threw about 100 warm-up pitches in the bullpen — he was up almost every inning for 10 innings.
If Pelfrey had been unavailable to pitch, manager Jerry Manuel might have used Jeff Francoeur, who lobbied hard for an opportunity. Francoeur last pitched in high school, but was inspired by the solid pitching performances Cardinals position players Felipe Lopez and Joe Mather turned in.
“I wanted to win the game, don’t get me wrong,” Francoeur said. “But I could have gone in there in the 20th and gotten the save.”
Rodriguez was the Mets’ seventh reliever, coming in after the other six — Ryota Igarashi, Pedro Feliciano, Fernando Nieve, Hisanori Takahashi, Jenrry Mejia and Raul Valdes — combined for 11 scoreless innings, with each getting at least four outs.
Takahashi has perhaps the most impressive escape act in the 14th inning. With runners on second and third and no one out, Takahashi fanned Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick. He then walked Albert Pujols intentionally and struck out relief pitcher Blake Hawksworth looking.