[caption id="attachment_49" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Jason Bay Muscles Up for One of His Two Homeruns on the Night"]
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Mike Pelfrey stranded the bases loaded in the 4th and 5th innings on his way to pitching six shutout innings in Los Angeles Tuesday. Jason Bay and the rest of the Mets bats supported their escape artist pitcher as they muscled up for 6 runs against Ted Lilly and the Dodger bullpen.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the 4th, Dodger center fielder Matt Kemp was erased trying to sneak in a run on a Juan Uribe double. Pelfrey then loaded the bases with a walk and a hit-by-pitch to the next two hitters. With the bases loaded, two out, and the pitchers spot due to hit, Pelfrey escaped by getting Lilly to ground weakly to first base, ending the threat.
In the next half-inning, Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran belted a two-out two-run blast to left center field. Kemp’s base running blunder suddenly loomed larger as the Mets broke open a scoreless game with a 2-0 lead.
After the offensive spark, Pelfrey got into trouble again in the 5th. With two out and no on, Pelfrey pelted Aaron Miles. Kemp followed with a single, and Pelfrey pitched around James Loney to load the bases. He got the light hitting Uribe to hit a hard line drive to Angel Pagan in center to end the threat.
With his amazing escape acts in the 4th and 5th, Pelfrey turned the game over to Bay, who broke the game wide open by adding two more moon shots to Beltran’s dinger.
Jason Bay, who has been getting hot after hitting a grand slam in Detroit, led off the 6th inning with a bomb off of Ted Lilly, pushing the Mets lead to 3-0. Bay was not finished though, as in the 8th he added a three run homerun off of Blake Hawksworth to push the Mets lead to 6-0.
The three long balls were all the Mets would need, as the bullpen held the Dodgers scoreless giving the Mets a 2-0 lead in the four game West Coast series.
Game Notes:
- Bay's two home runs give him six on the year, matching his total from all of 2010
- According to an ESPN report, Mike Pelfrey will be paired with Ronny Paulino for future starts, even against an opposing right-handed pitcher, as Pelfrey's ERA is almost 6 full runs lower with Paulino as his backstop.
- According to a Daily News report, All-star shortstop Jose Reyes could not test his injured left hamstring before the game, as he had hoped. The Mets are hopeful he can avoid a DL stint, so he can play against the Phillies after the all-star break. He is still day-to-day with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain.