George McNish/The Star-LedgerMets starter Mike Pelfrey delivers a pitch during Wednesday night's game at Shea Stadium against the Atlanta Braves.NEW YORK -- Raise your hand if you had Mike Pelfrey leading the Mets in wins by mid-August. Putting his... Jeremy Cothran/The Star-Ledger

NOTEBOOK NEW YORK -- At this point, the Mets aren't looking for names to stabilize the bullpen. With Billy Wagner expected to miss around three weeks, the Mets know that beggars can't be choosers when it comes to upgrading this... Jeremy Cothran/The Star-Ledger

Mike Pelfrey pitched the first shutout complete game of his career and the second by a Mets' starter this week, though it was kind of an interesting game for him. He walked three and allowed just three hits -- all singles -- though his groundball rate was terrible (9-to-15), and Pelfrey is a guy who thrives on keeping the ball on the ground. Many of the flyballs he allowed were of the popup or lazy variety, but if he isn't striking guys out (he had just three), he's generally going to be more successful when his grounder rate is approaching two.

The Mets managed to plate six runs on just six hits thanks to some walks and a couple of Atlanta errors. There was only one extra-base hit for either team in the whole game (David Wright's solo shot in the fifth), so everyone lost the swag question about the game's second extra-base hit. The homerun was Wright's 97th RBI of the year, putting Mike Piazza's team record of 124 slightly within reach with 35 games remaining.

I added a GWRBI line beneath the WPA graph below, though the Mets' fourth run scored on Chipper Jones's throwing error in the first so nobody actually got credit for that RBI. Better luck next time, stats of yesteryear!

Big winners: Mike Pelfrey, +22.8% WPA, Dan Murphy, +14.3% WPA
Big losers: Jose Reyes, -4.7% WPA, David Wright, -0.6% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Murphy two-run single in 1st, +16.0% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Larry walk in 6th to load bases, -5.7% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +22.8%
Total batter WPA: +27.2%
GWRBI: Nobody (run scored on a throwing error)

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by BobbyV_Incognito; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Name # of Posts BobbyV_Incognito 53 Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright 48 pingel 30 Greenpoint Ian 23 LOUtheMETfan 13 gogomets 12 mmxii 9 JoshNY 9 Shomov 8 johnnyapple 7 Reg Dunlop 5 DoctorK16 3 Simons 1 Grouchoman 1 goth brooks 1

OK, so he didn't say it in exactly those words, but Brian Schneider made his feeling known tonight about how the Mets should handle Mike Pelfrey — without the kid gloves.

It's an interesting debate, especially after Pelfrey threw his first complete game of his career. He's now at 154 innings for the year. He threw 152.2 last year in the minors and majors combined.

As I said earlier and I'm sure many of you know, statistical evidence says pitchers who throw 30 or 40 more innings than the year before often have arm trouble — either now or in the future. If Pelfrey has six or seven starts left and averages about six or seven innings a start, he will exceed that threshold. And that's even before team thinks about pitching him deep into the playoffs.

It's something to consider.

Anyway, we asked Schneider what he thought of watching Pelfrey late in the season. Here's what he said:

"We're in the thick of things. It's hard to take innings away from someone who helps you out so much."

It's hard to argue that if you're a member of the team or a Mets fan. But remember what happened to Clay Buchholz last year with the Red Sox. The Mets aren't known as graduates of the Bill James school of baseball, but it's worth watching from now until the end of September.

Not so long ago, Mike Pelfrey making it through the fifth inning would have been worthy of somewhat grudging attaboys. The Kansas righty had size, stuff, a first-round pedigree and the most-famous visible tongue this side of Gene Simmons, but he rarely had results. It felt like you could diagram most Pelfrey starts: He'd show flashes, particularly with that evil sinking fastball of his, but quickly have trouble hitting his spots with his change and curveball, leading him to sideline the secondary pitches and try to get by with just the fastball, which would lead to an eruption of walks and hits and an early exit. And looming over all that was that prospect pedigree, which has been more blessing than curse for some time around here -- recall, if you dare, the dull semi-parade that's featured the likes of Dave Mlicki, Jay Payton, Grant Roberts, Terrence Long, Pat Strange and Victor Diaz, to name just a few who arrived much celebrated and departed barely noticed. Sure, you have David Wright and Jose Reyes (and thank goodness), but given our underwhelming farm production of the last decade or so, a Met fan can be forgiven for wondering not what went wrong with the other guys, but what possibly could have gone right with those two.

But to the very short list of prospect success stories, perhaps we can now add Mike Pelfrey.

What happened? Maybe it's that Dan Warthen believes a curveball complements a fastball in a way that's nothing like ketchup and ice cream. Certainly you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that Big Pelf seems a lot more comfortable under the Manuel/Warthen regime than he did during the Peterson/Randolph reign. When Willie came back to his California hotel room to find Omar waiting, Pelfrey had just beaten the Angels in singularly unimpressive fashion, allowing six earned runs over six innings to improve to 3-6 with a 4.62 ERA. Since then, he's 9-2 with an ERA of 3.12.

But I'm a little suspicious of that, perhaps just because as studious fans we eat these stories up -- the "A-ha!" moment from the new coach is the baseball equivalent of the heroic prosecutor extracting a witness-stand confession from the bad guy in a courtroom drama. It might just be that Pelfrey came to the big leagues at 22, with very little in the way of minor-league experience, and had to absorb a fair number of the knockings-around that are a pitcher's life lessons. (Whether absorbing those beatings in brutally public fashion was good for him or not is another question.)

Whatever the case, tonight was one to celebrate. The Mets staked Pelfrey to a 5-0 lead courtesy of the wonderful Daniel Murphy and the horrible Atlanta Braves infield (though thankfully, fill-in first baseman Greg Norton was OK on a play that looked uncomfortably like Todd Hundley bearing down on Cliff Floyd's exposed forearm), then did their usual Metsian offensive snooze, letting the Braves creep back into view. In the sixth, up 6-1, Pelfrey gave up a bunt single to Gregor Blanco, then walked Yunel Escobar and Chipper to bring up Brian McCann with the bases loaded and none out. Three months ago, we all would have waited for Pelfrey to crumble; tonight, you felt like he'd find his way out of it -- and one nifty double play from a cool-headed Argenis Reyes, he more or less had. That led him to the ninth and a 3-0 count on Larry Wayne, our old enemy now reduced to a figurehead. Again, one might have expected to peek ahead in the script and find a Chipper double or home run and Pelf trudging off the mound to be replaced by one arsonist or another. But no: Three pitches later, it was Chipper trudging away.

The worries about Pelfrey in September will likely concern his passage into uncharted territory innings-wise. That's not to be laughed off, not if these Mets wind up with October dates on their calendar after all. But look how far Mike Pelfrey's come. Too many innings? He and we should have such problems.

The Mets (70–57) defeated the Braves (56–71) by the score of 6 to 3 tonight in Shea Stadium.

For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.

I can’t believe I am actually writing this but Mike Pelfrey now leads the team with 12 wins following the first complete game of his career.

Big Pelf was solid and if 3 is your favorite number, take a look at his line: 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts.

As far as the offense goes, what else can you say about Daniel Murphy who clearly meant business in the bottom of the 1st inning with a two out, two run single.

Later in the frame, the Mets tacked on three more runs with the help of a Chipper Jones throwing error, followed by a Pelfrey RBI single.

The Mets now have scored a MLB-leading 103 runs in the 1st inning and have scored first in 83 out of 127 games this season.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, David Wright took out a maple 9-iron and launched one over the fence for his 24th home run.

This was one of the more well-balanced games the Mets have played all season with outstanding pitching, timely hitting and solid defense - and it feels even better against the Braves!

And by the way, I finally get to write a “happy recap!”

Pedro Martinez (4-3, 4.96 ERA) and the Mets look to sweep the series tomorrow night when they welcome Mike Hampton (no, that is not a typo) back to New York, starting at 7pm.

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NEW YORK - There's no big secret to the Mets success. During the past month, as the Mets have began to look more and more like a playoff team, the catalyst has been their starting pitching. Without Billy Wagner to... Jeremy Cothran

NOTEBOOK NEW YORK -- At this point, the Mets aren't looking for names to stabilize the bullpen. With Billy Wagner reportedly expected to miss around three weeks, the Mets know that beggars can't be choosers when it comes to upgrading... Jeremy Cothran/The Star-Ledger

Yeah, well...strike that last thing I said. Looks like Grand Pelf is upset he missed the ice cream run. A tapper single to start the inning, then two straight walks to load the bases with nobody out. No good for... Dan Graziano

NEW YORK -- It's becoming an annual rite. About this time every year, people start talking about candidates for Most Valuable Player. And every year now, it seems, David Wright's name is in the discussion. "Flattering," Wright said before Wednesday... Dan Graziano/The Star-Ledger

It is the middle of the fifth, which means it's time for ice cream. I will not be able to blog for the next several minutes, as I will have my mouth full. But no big. Pelfo Grande is rolling,... Dan Graziano

Entering this game, Chipper Jones had a .313 batting average and a .562 slugging percentage with 19 home runs, 19 doubles, 61 runs scored and 54 RBI in 85 career games at Shea Stadium. All this talk across town about... Dan Graziano

Whoa. See, the Braves are not what you would, technically, call....good. Granted, two of the five runs Jurrjens gave up in the first inning were unearned. And 24 of the 44 pitches he threw were strikes. But other than that....oh... Dan Graziano

Good evening Mets fans. Mike Pelfrey (11-9, 3.91 ERA) will be on the mound as the Mets (69-57) play the middle game against the Atlanta Braves (56-70). Pelfey is coming off a stellar performance after scattering seven hits without walking a batter in seven scoreless innings against the Pirates on Friday. For the Braves, Jair Jurrjens (11-8, 3.15) will be on the hill.

Marc here, taking you through tonight’s action.

Stat of the day: Braves catcher Brian McCann is 6-for-11 with four doubles against Pelfrey.

Top 1st: 1-2-3 inning for Pelfrey, who fanned Mets killer Chipper Jones to end the inning.

Bottom 1st: Big inning for the Mets! Not only did Braves starter Jair Jurrjens struggle, but his defense let him down too. With one out, Argenis Reyes battled back from an 0-2 count, singled up the middle and stole second. Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran walked to load the bases with two outs and Daniel Murphy followed with a clutch two-run single. Fernando Tatis hit one to Jones, whose throw bounced past the first baseman as two more runs came in. Brian Schneider then reached on an error by Escobar, whose throw was high, and Pelfrey helped his cause with a run-scoring single. Mets 5, Braves 0.

Top 2nd: It was another 1-2-3 inning for Pelfrey, who was aided by a nice catch by Wright in foul territory.

Bottom 2nd: Mets go down in order.

Top 3rd: With Omar in the booth, Pelfrey issued a leadoff single to Francoeur and a run-scoring base hit to Blanco two batters later. Mets 5, Braves 1.

Bottom 3rd: Tatis smacked a two-out single, but that’s it for the Mets. Beltran, Murphy and Schneider hit ground balls.

Top 4th: Big Pelf walked Mark Kotsay with two outs before getting Greg Norton to fly out. Argenis made a nice diving catch to get McCann out at first for the second out.

Bottom 4th: Not much for the Mets this inning as Pelfrey, Jose Reyes and Argenis Reyes get nothing.

Top 5th: The bottom of the Braves lineup is retired in order. So far, so good for Pelfrey. Let’s see if he can keep this up and give the Mets bullpen a night off.

Bottom 5th: Mets added to their lead as Wright belted his 24th homer on the season. Mets 6, Braves 1.

Top 6th: Shaky inning for Pelfrey. After Blanco reached on a bunt single, he walked Escobar and Jones to load the bases. He was fortunate that McCann grounded into a DP (as a run scored), but then he uncorked a wild pitch to bring in Escobar. Mets 6, Braves 3.

Bottom 6th: Buddy Carlyle came on for Jurrjens and retired Tatis, Schneider and Pelfrey in order.

Top 7th: Seven strong innings for Pelfrey, who threw just six pitches in the inning.

Bottom 7th: Wright drew a two-out walk before Will Ohman got Delgado to ground out.

Top 8th: Pelfrey retired the side in order. Only question left: Will he pitch the ninth? He is at 97 pitches.

Bottom 8th: The Mets go down in order. Big Pelf is coming out for the ninth. Will he notch his first complete game?

Top 9th: Big Pelf retired the side in order to record his first complete game ever. Pelf allowed just three hits and threw 108 pitches. Final: Mets 6, Braves 3.

UPDATE, 7:14 p.m.: I'll have updates here throughout the game. Consider this your in-game thread…

UPDATE, 7:47 p.m.: Greg Norton is listed as an outfield on my roster and you just saw why. I know neither of those errors were charged to him but, geez, did he have a terrible inning trying to knock down those throws.

For anyone who worried about Mike Pelfrey's sharpness, he looks pretty darn good. Six up, six down, and he's been in the mid-90s on the gun here at Shea.

UPDATE, 7:51 p.m.: OK, here's the deal on Al Reyes. He'll be eligible for the postseason roster. Anyone in the organization by Aug. 31 is eligible. You can replace someone already on the roster who happens to be on the DL, like El Duque, Alou, etc. (Thanks to Pete Abraham for that.)

UPDATE, 8:24 p.m.: For those who are interested, the B-Mets are hosting New Hampshire tonight. Ryan Church is 0 for 2 so far and Luis Castillo is 1 for 2 with an RBI in his final rehab game. ... Fernando Martinez, who is slowly beginning to flash some power, has already drove home two runs and has two hits. ... If you're interested in keeping tabs on Church and co., you can check out the box score here.

UPDATE, 8:45 p.m.: Despite a near-disaster there, Mike Pelfrey did what he needed to do, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam with two runs allowed and a 6-3 lead.

It did make me wonder what Manuel and co. were thinking there considering what Manuel said about Pelfrey before the game. He gave up two straight walks with a five-run lead, but ended up finding the zone when he needed to.

For what it's worth, he is only at 83 pitches and will come to bat here in the bottom of the sixth.

UPDATE, 8:49 p.m.: Mets are now 2 for 16 with a walk since the first inning. They just do not tack on.

UPDATE, 9:05 p.m.: Bobby Cox, a man known as a baseball genius, made a curious move there. I mean honestly, what happened the last time Willy Loman…err, Ohman…pitched to Delgado?

Of course, it worked so Cox is the genius. Those of us who questioned the moves are the fools.

One more inning here out of Pelfrey, who's at 89 pitches. No one is warming in the 'pen.

Mike Pelfrey (pictured) goes for his staff-leading 12th victory tonight when the surging Mets take on the Braves in the second game of a three-game NL East series at Shea Stadium....

Large Pelf about to take the Shea Stadium mound on yet another perfect April night in August. Could be a rough go for the home squad, as Atlanta is sending its only remaining decent pitcher to the mound to start.... Dan Graziano

With Al Reyes in the fold (and probably on the way to Shea in 10 days or so) the Mets now have three Reyes to keep tabs on. I'd like to know if anyone can remember other combinations of guys on the same team with the same last name. Can anybody name another situation where there were three?

Al Reyes has had a good career for a journeyman. (Yes, when you've pitched for the Brewers, Dodgers, Orioles, Pirates, Yankees, Cards and Ray, you are a journeyman.) Reyes has been tough to hit (just 340 hits in 428.2 innings), but he has had control issues (195 walks). His total line reads like this: 23-16, 3.82 ERA in 384 games. You can see Reyes' career stats here.

Oddly enough, Reyes wasn't actually terrible with Tampa. He wasn't closing and wasn't happy about it, so perhaps that had at least something to do with his release.

— As for Mike Pelfrey…Jerry Manuel said he'd begin to monitor Pelfrey's innings, but only if the big guy starts to labor on the mound, i.e. struggle with his command, issue too many walks, throw too many pitches. If he remains solid, it appears the Mets will let him continue to work on a regular basis.

Sabermatricians have determined that pitchers are susceptible to arm troubles if they exceed their innings pitched from the previous season by 30 or 40. Pelfrey pitched 152.2 innings last year, meaning he should be safe around 180-190 this year. Right now he's at 145 IP, and on pace for 179. Of course (and this would be a welcome problem for the Mets), Pelfrey would start to drift into uncharted waters if he pitches in the playoffs.

Anyway, something to keep an eye on.

— Jerry Manuel also said he'd welcome the return of Ryan Church in part because it would allow him to rest Fernando Tatis. Tatis hasn't played this much since 2002, so he may hit a wall at some point. In fact, it may've already started. He's batting .230 this month with a .778 OPS.

I know Manuel had already mentioned resting Tatis more. But what surprised me was that he continued to say he'd employ Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans as a platoon in LF when Church is activated. So when, exactly, would Tatis play? You can't go away from him completely, right?

The Game:

The first place Mets (69-57) continue their three game against the Braves (56-70) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm.

The Lineup:

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Argenis Reyes
• 3B David Wright
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• CF Carlos Beltran
• LF Daniel Murphy
• RF Fernando Tatis
• C Brian Schneider
• P Mike Pelfrey

The Pitchers:

RHP Mike Pelfrey (11-8, 3.91 ERA) starts for the Mets.

RHP Jair Jurrjens (11-8, 3.15 ERA) starts for the Braves.

How To Catch It:

Tonight’s game can be seen locally on SNY and heard on WFAN.

The Bleachers:

For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

…enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets…

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Braves (56-70/4th, -13.0) Gregor Blanco LF Yunel Escobar SS Chipper Jones 3B Brian McCann C Mark Kotsay CF Greg Norton 1B Jeff Francoeur RF Kelly Johnson 2B Jair Jurrgens RHP (11-8, 3.15) Mets (69-57/1st, +1.5) Jose Reyes SS Argenis Reyes... Jeremy Cothran/The Star-Ledger