John Maine answered the call tonight, pitching seven shutout innings in a 7–1 victory over the Braves.
Maine struck out 8 and only allowed 3 hits. It was a clutch performance…Keith Hernandez even referred to it as “career defining” during the broadcast. I don’t know about that but at least the win was “season salvaging.” Maine halted the 5 game losing streak, knocked the Braves to 5.5 games back in the NL east and kept the Phils at 2 games back.
The whole team looked more motivated tonight. Delgado went 2–4, inlcuding a 3–run home run that gave the Mets an early lead. Reyes went 2–5. Even Scott Schoeneweis looked good, coming in to clsoe out the 9th against the heart of the Braves’ lineup.
Saturday, Pelfrey goes for his first win of 2007. Against Atlanta he is 0–1 lin one career start, with a 7.2 ERA. Chuck James, meanwhile, is 1–3 lifetime vs. the Mets with a 6.22 ERA. James is also coming of a DL stint due to a dead arm. Should be a fun Fox game of the week.
