Jerry Manuel will remain faithful to Oliver Perez.
Perez’s rotation spot could have been in jeopardy after a brutal outing last night that continued his early-season struggles. In the Mets’ 10-5, Game 2 win over the Dodgers, Perez couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead and didn’t last four innings. Perez is winless on the season. Clearly he’s the Mets’ weakest link at the moment.Manuel, though, said he won’t pull Perez from the rotation.
“I’m going to stay with Ollie,” Manuel said.
Despite a possible replacement starting pitcher in Hisanori Takahashi, who was superb in relief of Perez last night, Manuel cited multiple reasons for keeping his faith. He excused Perez’s performance.
“I thought the night was a difficult night,” Manuel said. “It was very cold, windy.”
Manuel also is known not to change much while the team is winning, and the Mets have won six straight and eight of nine.
Manuel admitted he’d give Perez a longer leash because of the wins, but also because he believes in Perez’s value to the club.
“I think we need Ollie to get it right,” Manuel said. “We need Ollie to figure it out.”
Perez couldn’t do that last night, as the $36 million lefty was lifted after 3 2/3 innings, with Manuel giving him a quick hook in the top of the fourth. Perez served up three runs on three hits, four walks and a wild pitch and was booed off the mound.
Through four starts, Perez has gotten through six innings only once. His ERA is 4.35, and he has had only one good start. That came on April 16 against the Cardinals, when he allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings. Beyond that, Perez has had three starts in which he ranged from passable to disastrous.
Takahashi fired 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball, striking out five. In Takahashi’s 14 1/3 innings this season, he’s fanned 21, more than any MLB reliever. Manuel admitted Takahashi was “making a strong case for himself” should the rotation struggle, but he also said Takahashi’s relief presence is valuable, especially since his ability to be the Mets’ long man prevents other relievers from getting taxed.