Jeremy Hefner, making his first major league start, took the loss. (Anthony J. Causi)
It could be that the Mets will badly miss Mike Pelfrey this season.
Since Pelfrey suffered a season-ending elbow injury, the replacements have been Chris Schwinden, Miguel Batista and now Jeremy Hefner, and not surprisingly, the rotation slot is still an unresolved issue.
Last night, Hefner, who was making his first major league start, was battered for six runs in 3 2/3 innings in an 11-5 Padres rout at Citi Field.
So the question is who gets the ball next. Does Hefner?
“We haven’t had time to discuss it yet,” manager Terry Collins said, “where we’re headed and what we’re gonna do.”
Odds are, Hefner will get another turn. The 26-year-old right-hander had performed well in his two relief outings and last night, he delivered two strong innings before a 68-minute rain delay. Hefner then returned for the third inning and was blasted, getting only five more outs and serving up six runs on eight hits.
There are seemingly no other true rotation options — not yet, at least. Schwinden was horrible, posting a 11.25 ERA in two starts. The 41-year-old Batista delivered a 1.26 ERA in two-plus starts, but then suffered lower back stiffness and went on the disabled list. And the starters who have pitched the best at Triple-A Buffalo this year have been . . . Hefner and Schwinden.
As for Matt Harvey, who allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings for Buffalo last night, he has a 4.22 ERA but isn’t viewed as ready yet. Jeurys Familia (4.35 ERA at Triple-A) isn’t either.
Chris Young (shoulder surgery) is coming along in the minors, set to make his third start for St. Lucie today. But he’s more than just a start away from the majors.
The Mets are now 2-4 in the six post-Pelfrey starts, though to be fair, they’ve only gotten poor starting pitching in three of those outings. But can they figure out the spot long term?
Hefner had posted a 2.72 ERA in seven Triple-A starts, then pitched eight innings of two-run relief for the Mets this year. Last night, before the rain delay, he was impressive, firing two scoreless frames and allowing just a single. But in the third, with the delay over, Hefner came back out and was disastrous.
“He hadn’t thrown very many pitches and he kept himself active during the break,” Collins said of the decision to bring Hefner back. “He said he was fine.”
Hefner, who rode the exercise bike and played catch during the delay, served up three doubles and two singles in the third inning, surrendering four runs to one of the National League’s worst offensive teams. In the fourth, Hefner had more issues, allowing two more runs. He didn’t finish the inning.
Hefner said he felt physically as strong after the rain delay, but was just less sharp, saying: “Didn’t execute well.”
The Mets’ offense scored five runs, but their only tally through five innings came on a Padres error. David Wright did have three more hits, including a two-run homer. He’s now hitting .405.
Pelfrey wasn’t off to quite as impressive a start as that, but the righty had posted a 2.29 ERA through three turns and owns a respectable career mark of 4.26. The Mets could use him right now.