John Maine will make his fourth career postseason start today – at least it will feel that way for the right-hander when he walks to the mound at Shea Stadium for the most important outing of his career.
The Mets’ season is on double secret probation after last night’s 7-4 loss to the Marlins, and it’s Maine’s job to get a win. That’s something he understood even before Oliver Perez’s meltdown last night.
“It’s kind of make-or-break,” Maine said. “We’ve got [two] games left and the Phillies are playing well and the Marlins are swinging the bat rather well. It would be nice to sweep, but we’ve got to take two of three and hope that Washington plays Philly real tough.”
Maine (14-10, 4.07 ERA) is having a disastrous second half, but a big start today would bring some redemption. With the Marlins ready to start untested Chris Seddon (0-1, 6.89) it could be a case of Maine just needing to give the Mets a chance.
Against the Marlins last Sunday, Maine got no decision, allowing three earned runs on six hits over five innings in a game the Mets won 7-6 in 11 innings. Maine hasn’t won since Aug. 31, when he dominated the Braves over seven innings.
Last year Maine went 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in three postseason starts, and the Mets would like to think he’ll be in that mode again today. They certainly need a pitching boost after Perez lasted 32/3 innings and allowed six earned runs last night. The Mets received awful starts from Mike Pelfrey and Tom Glavine earlier in the week, adding to their recent misery.
Maine has succeeded against the Marlins this season, going 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA over three starts. Now it’s just a question of whether that can supercede Maine’s second-half numbers; he is 4-6 with a 6.11 ERA since the All-Star break.
“It’s my last start of the regular season and I need to come up big and help the team as much as I can and go as late into the game as I can,” Maine said.
“You can’t let [the pressure] get to you. You just need to go out there and play. It’s an important game, but you can’t let it get to you.”
mpuma@nypost.com