Mike Pelfrey can go under the alias Jack Bauer for his fine work in the last 24.
The Mets right-hander labored last night, but kept his scoreless streak intact, extending it to 24 innings in a rain-shortened 1-0 victory over the Braves at Citi Field.
The game was called after a delay of 98 minutes in the top of the sixth inning. Reliever Raul Valdes threw one pitch in the sixth, denying Pelfrey a complete-game shutout.
But the Mets (10-9) aren’t complaining after completing their first series sweep of the season and moving above .500 for the first time since winning on Opening Day.
Pelfrey (4-0) needed 106 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed five hits and walked five with three strikeouts while lowering his earned run average to 0.69 — lowest in the major leagues. He has not allowed a run over his last four appearances, including a one-inning relief stint nine days ago, when the Mets won in 20 innings against the Cardinals with Pelfrey getting the save.
“I can’t say I was pleased with my outing,” Pelfrey said. “My command wasn’t great and they did a good job laying off my pitches and made me work.”
The Mets, who have won six of seven since returning from St. Louis, now await the arrival of the Dodgers and a chance to make this a truly memorable homestand.
“So far so good,” David Wright said. “We need to really take advantage of playing at home, and we’ve been able to do that so far.”
The fact the Mets could sweep the Braves in three games and score only nine runs in the process speaks volumes about their recent pitching. As far as the Mets were concerned, the rain couldn’t have come at a better time, allowing them to rest a tired bullpen.
“That was one of the breaks we hadn’t gotten,” Jeff Francoeur said.
The Mets got the only run when Chipper Jones made a diving stop on a Jason Bay grounder in the first inning, but threw in the dirt to first base. Jose Reyes, who had singled and stolen second, raced around to score on the play.
Jones, playing with a hip injury he sustained on Saturday, had a rough night all the way around. In the first inning he stopped at third base on a Brian McCann double into the right-field corner with two outs — he likely would have scored on the play — and was left stranded.
Tommy Hanson (1-2) allowed five hits over five innings to become the latest Atlanta starter to feel cheated. On Saturday, Jair Jurrjens allowed three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings, a day after Kenshin Kawakami allowed three earned runs over six innings.
Martin Prado gave the Braves hope with a leadoff double against Pelfrey in the fifth, but after Jones struck out and McCann walked, Troy Glaus hit into an inning-ending double play.
Pelfrey unloaded 61 pitches over the first two innings. His biggest scare came when he loaded the bases with two outs in the first and battled rookie slugger Jason Heyward. Pelfrey went to a full count before Heyward fouled off three pitches and popped out to end the inning.
The Braves put two runners on base in the third before Pelfrey got Heyward to hit into an inning-ending double play.
“[Pelfrey] had some traffic out there all night,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “He was able to bob and weave and keep us out of trouble.”