John Maine wants the ball on Wednesday.
The right-hander came through his bullpen session yesterday confident the muscle spasms in his non-throwing elbow that shortened his last start are no longer a factor.
“Good to go,” Maine said before the Mets beat the Braves 1-0 in a five-inning rain-shortened game at Citi Field.
Maine lasted just 3 2/3innings against the Braves on Friday because the spasms in his left elbow were inhibiting his movement, keeping him from completing his pitches. Manager Jerry Manuel became alarmed when Maine’s velocity dipped into the low 80s.
Maine’s availability for Wednesday’s matinee against the Dodgers means Manuel has another option in the bullpen until then, as Hisanori Takahashi likely would have gotten the call if Maine couldn’t start.
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The Mets aren’t saddened that Manny Ramirez won’t be making the trip into Citi Field with manager Joe Torre and the Dodgers beginning tonight.
Ramirez was placed on the disabled list with a strained right calf last week.
“It’s a break for us, for sure,” Jeff Francoeur said. “He’s one of the better players in that lineup, but with [Matt] Kemp, [Andre] Ethier, [James] Loney, they’ve still got a lot of star power.”
Jason Bay said not having to worry about a “game-changer” like Ramirez will be a relief for the Mets.
Bay said Torre’s presence still makes the Dodgers a special opponent.
“He’s one of the best,” Bay said. “I think a lot of people think it’s easy to manage teams with a tremendous amount of talent, and I think in some aspects it might be a little bit tougher.
“Somebody has to do a pretty good job of making sure everyone meshes together. His track record speaks for itself.”
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Mike Pelfrey‘s scoreless streak of 24 innings is the longest by a Mets pitcher since Maine had a 26-inning streak from July 15 to Aug. 12, 2006.
“I don’t want to pass my buddy, so I’ll give up a run,” Pelfrey said jokingly last night.
The Mets are inviting all fans who held tickets for last night’s rain-shortened game to submit their stubs for complimentary tickets for a game during the June 8-10 series against San Diego or the June 22-24 series against Detroit (subject to availability).