[caption id="attachment_637" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Members of the Mets infield and training staff join Terry Collins and Dan Warthen as they check the status of Mike Pelfrey on the mound, after the 6'7 right-hander was struck by a line drive. He was later removed without throwing a test pitch. (Photo Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)"]
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In what has already become a season marked by devastating injuries, the Mets current “ace” left his start early last night after being struck in his pitching elbow by a line drive in what was a 6-4 loss at Arizona.
Mike Pelfrey, who was pitching for redemption last night after telling the New York Post he did not believe the Mets could contend for a championship this season, was sporting a 4-2 lead as he delivered his 50th pitch to the leadoff man, Gerardo Parra in the fifth inning.
Parra sent a shot back to the mound that ricocheted off an unyielding Pelfrey on the mound. Parra stood safely at first, while Pelfrey walked around the mound appearing to be pain free. Initial replays of the lined shot showed that not only did the 6’7 right-hander barely flinch; he also showed no signs of any injury.
But trainer Ray Ramirez tagged along on a jog to the mound with Mets manager Terry Collins, and pitching coach Dan Warthen; and as any Mets fan knows that when Ramirez is on the field, someone is about to leave with an injury. The general rule is that the more members of the Mets staff that are on the field, the more games the player generally has to miss due to injury.
Pelfrey pleaded his case to his manager and training staff, but Collins was not about to take a chance on another devastating injury, so he pulled his right-hander after 4.0 innings of two-run ball.
After Pelfrey disappeared, his lead did too.
DJ Carrasco had all the time in the world to warm up after the injury, but even the advantage of unlimited prep time that a pitcher gets when he is tasked with filling in for an injury, could not save him. After allowing the opposing pitcher, Daniel Hudson, to sacrifice Parra over, he hit the second Diamondback batter of the game.
Ryan Roberts unleashed payback on the very next pitch, when the man with all the ink, tattooed the first pitch he saw from Carrasco for a three-run homer that gave the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.
The Mets have now dropped four straight ballgames, and sit at three games under .500 for the first time since June 21. They will try and avoid a three game sweep in the desert, as Chris Capuano will toe the rubber at 7 ET tonight against Jason Marquis who was acquired from the National’s at this year’s trade deadline.
Mets Notes:
Justin Turner did not start the first two games of this series, but did ground out in a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning of last night’s ballgame. According to Newsday.com, Turner has been bothered by a right-quad injury he suffered two weeks ago against the Marlins.
Ike Davis, who’s season is virtually over, is setting Labor Day as the deadline for his decision on whether to have surgery on his injured ankle, according to the Daily News. Davis was hoping he could simply return after rehab, but several attempts have failed, and the power-hitting first baseman has been told by doctors he needs more time to heal. Any surgery that he requires needs to happen soon, or he runs the risk of not being ready for Spring Training in 2012.
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