Other than ace Johan Santana, the entire Mets rotation has been a question mark this season. John Maine had been as worrisome as any, still winless through three games and showing a maddening tendency to unravel under pressure — until last night’s breakthrough, when he was as crisp and effective as he ever has been.
Maine threw six sharp innings in a 7-1 rout of NL East-leading Florida, allowing just a first-inning single and an unearned run. The Mets will only go as far as Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez will allow, and last night Maine looked like he could carry them a long way.
Gary Sheffield’s error in left field put Emilio Bonifacio on second base to lead off the game, and Jorge Cantu’s single with one out gave Florida a quick 1-0 lead. But Maine came back to catch Dan Uggla looking and fan Jeremy Hermedia.
“My first few starts I was really rushing myself,” Maine said. “This time I really slowed myself down and got under control. A couple times it got away from me, but I forced myself to slow down, and it worked.”
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Maine (1-2) said he worked on slowing himself down while throwing batting practice on Friday.
“(With Bonifacio) on third, my goal was just to limit them to one run, and that’s what happened,” he said. “A couple innings earlier this year I really let things get away from me speeding up. It could’ve gotten out of hand. I just slowed down again and made pitches.”
Every Mets starter not named Santana had pitched to a 6.32 ERA or worse, but Maine’s outing bodes well. Coming off September shoulder surgery, he had been 0-2 with a 7.47 ERA (a bloated 9.28 over his last two starts). But last night, he spotted his slider and had a fastball with life.
“He commanded his slider very well. To be able to throw his offspeed pitches for strikes was key for him,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “Even though he (only) gave up one hit it seemed like he was fighting, battling out there . . . and that was good to see him put up that type of fight.”