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Mike Pelfrey threw a complete game and Carlos Delgado backed him up with a couple of three-run homers Monday night as the New York Mets crushed the Houston Astros 9-1.
Pelfrey’s strong outing marked the first time in 13 years that a Mets pitcher has put together back-to-back complete games.
Delgado’s first homer (his 27th on the season) came in the first inning when he blasted a 1-0 outside fastball over the left field fence just right of foul pole, scoring Jose Reyes (who had singled) and David Wright (who had walked).
His second came (No. 28) came in the seventh inning and also scored Reyes (walk) and Wright (intentional walk). Delgado this time hit a flat slider over the center field wall a foot or two right of the “410” mark. That made it 7-0, as Daniel Murphy had added a run with an RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
The Mets made it 9-0 in the eighth inning when Jose Reyes poked a breaking ball down the right field line for a 2-RBI triple.
Pelfrey threw a gem, giving up just 6 hits and no walks while striking out 6. He lost his shutout in the ninth inning when with runners at first and third, Delgado made a great diving grab on a liner down the first-base line. Delgado touched the bag for the out at first but the run was able to score.
Pelfrey lost his no-hitter in the second inning when Lance Berkman hit a bloop to center field just out of the reach of Carlos Beltran’s glove, advancing our NoNoHitters.com count to 7,452 Mets games without a no-no.
But the important thing was not tapping the bullpen for the second consecutive time.
The last Mets pitcher to throw back-to-back complete games was Brett Saberhagen, who pitched the Mets to a 9-3 win over the Braves on June 23, 1995, then followed with an 8-3 victory over the Florida Marlins on June 28, 1995.
The Mets enter their two-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies up by just a half a game in the N.L. East, after the Phils completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night with a 5-0 victory.
