PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Mike Pelfrey hopes a good spring training will earn him a job in the New York Mets' rotation.
``If there's a spot open, then I'm going to try for it,'' Pelfrey said after pitching three scoreless innings in Monday's 3-2, 10-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves. ``If there's not, I can make their decision difficult.''
Pelfrey induced six groundball outs, gave up two singles and did not walk a batter. He also struck out none.
``It felt good,'' Pelfrey said. ``I felt a little weak because I have a little cold, kind of, but I just tried to make pitches at the bottom of the strike zone. I just tried to be aggressive and attack hitters.''
Orlando Hernandez, who has a foot injury, it the most likely candidate for the last starting spot behind Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine and Oliver Perez.
``I've gotten opportunities,'' Pelfrey said. ``If I would have taken advantage of that last year, you know, maybe I'd have a spot.''
Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes gave up one run in two innings, struck out a batter and didn't walk anyone. The 23-year-old walked 30 batters in 50 2-3 innings last season. He finished 2-2 with a 6.22 ERA.
``It was good,'' Reyes said. ``I just concentrated on throwing strikes and hopefully keep the walks down this year.''
Reyes did give up an RBI triple to Ramon Castro in his first outing since last season and threw mostly fastballs.
``It feels good to be back on the mound,'' Reyes said. ``It felt like it took forever from the offseason.''
-- NOTES: Former Mets All-Star Darryl Strawberry will be a special instructor for the Mets and will work with both major and minor league players. ``He looks great, I might have to suit him up,'' manager Willie Randolph joked. ``I might have to activate him, man. Darryl could probably go catch a hanging slider and take him deep.'' Strawberry is 46. ``It's just really good to see them be back on the right track,'' Strawberry said. ``That's the most important thing. I'm excited about the future here.'' ... OF Ryan Church returned to Port St. Lucie on Monday, though he is still day to day after sustaining a concussion in Saturday's game. INF Ruben Gotay walked into camp on crutches Monday after spraining his right ankle Sunday and is expected to miss a few days. He is likely to receive a CT scan on Tuesday. ... Martinez is slated to make his spring training debut on Thursday against the Washington Nationals in Viera. ``When you start facing hitters, your intensity goes up,'' he said. ``You see what you have when you go after him.''
Thursday
May 1st, 2025
7:39PM
