CHICAGO — After spending 14 seasons in the minor leagues, Scott Rice certainly isn’t going to complain about receiving too much work with the Mets.
“I love it,” Rice said yesterday after pitching two perfect innings in the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. “I’m here to pitch.”
Rice’s 25 relief appearances lead the major leagues and put him on pace for 100 games this season. But with Robert Carson struggling, Josh Edgin at Triple-A Las Vegas still trying to work out his inconsistency and veteran Pedro Feliciano on the disabled list at Single-A St. Lucie because of food poisoning, Mets manager Terry Collins doesn’t have lefty options behind Rice.
“Right now it’s early enough in the year, we’ve tried to get [Rice] some days off,” Collins said. “But if he keeps pitching four out of five, it’s got to be a concern. We’ve got to certainly pick up some of the workload with somebody else.”
Rice welcomed the chance to pitch the seventh and eighth innings yesterday behind starter Dillon Gee and Greg Burke.
“It kind of helped me get into a little roll,” Rice said. “I was able to work off my sinker instead of throwing a lot of sliders and only having one hitter, so it was real good.
“I don’t know if I’ve [pitched] quite as often before, but I’ve always usually been one of the more used relievers because of my ability to get lefties out as well as righties.”
* The Mets received a gift in the fifth inning, when third-base umpire Manny Gonzalez called out Ryan Sweeney trying to extend a double into a triple leading off the inning. Marlon Byrd slipped in the right field corner retrieving the ball, giving Sweeney a chance. Sweeney belly-flopped into third base, but his hand reached the bag before David Wright tagged him. Gonzalez ruled the runner out, ending a potential Cubs rally.
* The Wrigley Field tradition of fans throwing back opponents’ home runs allowed Juan Lagares to collect a souvenir from his first major league blast. But Daniel Murphy nearly ruined it.
“I got the ball — I was on deck — and went to throw it in the stands,” Murphy said. “I didn’t realize it was kind of important. I tossed it in the dugout. I didn’t really get to see [Lagares’] reaction, but about an inning later he seemed to be on Cloud Nine.”
* Bobby Parnel
l’s sizzling May continued with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth inning. Parnell has fired eight scoreless innings and converted all four of his save opportunities this month.