MLB

Pelfrey knocked around in Mets’ loss to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Mike Pelfrey was supposed to be the Mets’ ace this season while Johan Santana recovered from surgery.

Instead, Pelfrey has turned into a pitcher who has lasted more than 5 1/3 innings only once this season, and after getting knocked around for four runs in 4 1/3 innings last night, pitching coach Dan Warthen said: “I was not by any means upset by the way he pitched.”

That came after a 10-3 loss to the Phillies in which Pelfrey gave up a monstrous home run to Ryan Howard then two more runs in the fifth.

BOX SCORE

The righty insisted he wasn’t still sick when he took the mound last night, but the sight of Howard in the batter’s box certainly turned his stomach. The slugging first baseman dominated the Mets, but they should be more concerned with the continued troubles of Pelfrey.

Manager Terry Collins was prepared to bump Pelfrey’s start back a few days after the righty suffered from a week-long bug, but Pelfrey talked his way into facing the division rivals and flamed out after three strong innings.

And Collins said he regretted the decision and would have rather started Dillon Gee, who faltered in his first relief appearance.

“It’s my fault,” Collins said. “I write the lineup and I didn’t need to pitch him. I had a concern that there might be a problem. I know better than that.”

Pelfrey said he was OK and had his best sinker of the year. Warthen agreed.

“I’m very anxious to see his next 25 starts or so,” Warthen said. “I think we’re getting very close to where Mike is supposed to be.”

Pelfrey blamed the result on a few bad pitches.

“I left the ball over the middle of the plate and they hit it,” Pelfrey said.

That was particularly true on Howard’s homer, a four-seamer that was supposed to be inside, but wasn’t. With Jimmy Rollins on first, Pelfrey used a quick pitch to Howard, who then blasted one deep into the right field seats.

The first baseman dropped his bat and stood at the plate as the ball soared over the wall.

Pelfrey said he didn’t see the reaction, but added that Howard “deserved” to admire the homer and did not hit him on the right elbow on purpose in his next at-bat an inning later: “I wouldn’t intentionally hit someone with a slider.”

Ben Francisco then delivered a two-run single to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead and chase Pelfrey.

And while Gee escaped the fifth without any more damage, he fell victim to Howard an inning later, allowing a grand slam to the first baseman.

For all of Pelfrey’s troubles, Vance Worley was just as much of a problem for the Mets.

Making his first start of the season for the Phillies — and just the third of his career — Worley held the Mets to just two hits over six innings. Only ninth-inning homers by Ike Davis and Jason Pridie prevented the Mets from being shut out.

Still, the Mets’ primary concern has to be Pelfrey, who has given up at least four runs in all but one start. And his ERA after is a decidedly un-ace-like 7.39.

Collins said before the game that Pelfrey’s lobbying got him the start.

“That’s pretty much how it went,” Collins said. “You’ve got to trust them. You’ve got to respect them. They’re professional, major league players.”

The flameout wasn’t all that unusual for Pelfrey at Citizens Bank Park, where he entered last night having made six starts and going 1-2 with a 9.55 ERA.

The bullpen fared no better than Pelfrey, part of a complete breakdown as the Mets tried to prove their recent 6-1 stretch against the Diamondbacks and Nationals wasn’t a fluke.

Clearly, that didn’t happen last night.

dan.martin@nypost.com