OLD EASE: Miguel Batista delivers during his sterling outing last night at Citi Field, hurling seven shutout innings and earning the win when a shaky Frank Francisco (above) finished off the Mets’ 3-1 victory over the Brewers. (Bill Kostroun)
OLD EASE: Miguel Batista delivers during his sterling outing last night at Citi Field, hurling seven shutout innings and earning the win when a shaky Frank Francisco (inset) finished off the Mets’ 3-1 victory over the Brewers. (Bill Kostroun)
The Mets have been looking for a reliable fifth starter since Mike Pelfrey went down. And on the same night young Jenrry Mejia made his case with a solid start in the minors, aging Miguel Batista trumped it with a spectacular one at Citi Field, smothering the Brewers with seven shutout innings in a 3-1 victory.
Batista dealt with the Brewers just as easily as he did a groin injury that he suffered five days earlier. He allowed just four hits and one walk, striking out five. He expanded the strike zone, befuddling the Brewers enough that even struggling closer Frank Francisco’s sweaty-palmed ninth inning couldn’t cost the Mets.
“That’s what you saw last year, and that’s why we put him in the rotation,’’ manager Terry Collins said. “He made key pitches when he had to. He has the ability to expand the strike zone, and when he needs it, makes a quality pitch.’’
Daniel Murphy stayed red-hot, hitting an RBI single and scoring on a suicide squeeze after the Brewers had botched one. And Francisco — who Collins said before the game would remain the closer after Sunday’s meltdown in Miami — allowed a run in a nerve-wracking ninth but picked up his ninth save.
Batista (1-1) won a pitchers’ duel with Yovani Gallardo, whom the Mets worked for a half-dozen walks. Batista wriggled out of second-inning trouble and at one point retired 10 straight, improving on his start last week in Philadelphia.
“It takes a little time for me to get acclimated to the rotation because I only had one start in spring training and I only went two innings,” Batista said. “They’re working with me to be able to throw more pitches.’’
Batista pulled his groin during the bullpen session following his last start. He had it wrapped after the first inning last night, and continued to smother the Brewers over the course of 108 pitches.
After Kirk Nieuwenhuis had walked in the first and scored on Murphy’s two-out single through the hole at short, Batista escaped a jam in the second when right fielder Lucas Duda’s error left Taylor Green on third with nobody out.
Batista struck out Brooks Conrad, and when Green broke late on a squeeze, catcher Mike Nickeas pounced on Cesar Izturis’ bunt and chased him back to third, tossing to David Wright for the out. Batista retired Gallardo to end the inning.
Murphy doubled to lead off the sixth, tagged up on Ike Davis’ fly out to center and scored when Ronny Cedeno executed a perfect squeeze.
Wright scored to make it 3-0 when Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez dropped the ball when he got caught in an eighth-inning rundown. They used that cushion to get Francisco back on the horse. After Collins said Francisco had been tipping his pitches and not using his breaking ball enough, his curve got hit in the ninth.
He allowed a leadoff single to Ryan Braun on a 79-mph curve, and then a one-out RBI single to Corey Hart on an 81-mph curve. After walking Green and catching Conrad looking on a high fastball, he got George Kottaras to fly out to end it.
“When we go through tough times, if you’re a true player, you’ve got to fight,” Francisco said. “If you get in the hole, you’ve got to fight to get out of the hole. If you don’t fight, you’re going to [be] in the hole forever, so that’s what I do. If I fall, I’m going to fight to get up. I’m not going to stay down.’’
Mejia, the prized 22-year-old right-hander who had Tommy John surgery last May 16, allowed three hits and one run in six innings in Single-A St. Lucie’s win over Bradenton, striking out seven without a walk.