It is no secret the Mets will need their bullpen to step up in the final month of the season if they expect to make the playoffs.
Having blown seven saves since the All-Star Break, and with Billy Wagner no longer an option, the latter innings of Mets games have been an adventure. However, the Mets may have found a solution in newly acquired relief pitcher Luis Ayala, as the team vies for its fourth straight win tonight against the Astros at Shea (7:10, SNY, WFAN).
Sunday, the Mets received Ayala from the Nationals in exchange for minor-league infielder Anderson Hernandez.
Jerry Manuel said of the right-hander, “We won’t know until we’ve seen him pitch a few times, but we need to find out what [Ayala] can do.”
Manuel has to like what he has seen so far. Ayala had immediate impact in the two games he has pitched for the Mets.
In his Mets debut Tuesday night, he entered in the seventh inning of a game that the Mets trailed by a run. There were runners on first and third with one out, and Ayala got the final two outs of the inning, needing eight pitches. The Mets then scored five runs in the eighth inning and won the game.
“That probably kind of changed the momentum right there,” Manuel said. “To hold them right there probably was the turning point in the game.”
That strong effort by Ayala was duplicated last night, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings without allowing a run and picked up the win as the Mets beat the Braves, 5-4.
The Mets (71-57) completed a three-game sweep and look to avenge a sweep three weekends ago at the hands of the Astros (64-63).
Ayala had a 1-8 record with an ERA of 5.77 before coming to the Mets. It remains to be seen if making the jump from worst-to-first will rejuvenate him, but so far he has certainly pitched like somebody who is determined to keep his team in first place.
Tonight’s Pitching Matchup:
Mets LHP Johan Santana (11-7. 2.75) Santana has not lost since June 28, a span of nine starts. Over that stretch, he is 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA. Santana pitched a gem in his previous outing, tossing a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over the Pirates.
Astros RHP Roy Oswalt (11-7, 4.28 ERA) Oswalt has won his past five starts and has not lost since June 25. He struck out 10 batters and allowed one hit in eight innings in a 3-0 win against the D’backs in his previous start .
With AP and mets.com