HIGH FIVE, UP SIX

Mets 5, Braves 2 (NYM: 15-7, ATL: 9-13)

It might be a little early to be watching the standings, but the Mets opened up a six-game lead over the Braves Friday night by beating Atlanta 5-2. It was Pedro Martinez*'s 5th straight win to open the season. (He deserves a 5-0 start, with all the wins he's lost to blown saves the past couple of years. He actually deserves a 20-0 start. I love unblemished starts - this'll be fun to see how far it goes.)

Pedro* pitched very well - his only problem was a 2-run homer to Chipper Jones, on an 0-2 count, in the sixth inning. But the Mets never trailed, and future Hall of Famer David Wright blasted two home runs (career homers number 45 and 46), to go with 3 RBI. THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, had a triple. And I'm going to make an argument that he's actually grown up, and is durable now. He slid awkwardly into second base after stealing the bag in the ninth, and kind of jammed his body as he hit the base. The Reyes of two years ago would have been out the rest of the season. This year's version ended up scoring a run.

Billy Wagner is making me a little nervous lately. He let the Braves load the bases in the bottom of the ninth before striking out Todd Pratt to end the game (he did strike out the side, which is exciting). Lately Wagner has been allowing too many baserunners. Hopefully he gets stronger and more dominant as the year goes on.

I saw this game on FSN South, and they had an interesting shot in the 9th inning - after Carlos Delgado lifted a fly ball to deep right to score Reyes off Chris Reitsma, he was shown in the dugout with a notebook writing something. I'd love to see an interview to see what kind of notes he's taking.

METS NOTES: I may have been wrong about Carlos Beltran* going on the DL. Apparently, he's going to be a game-time decision all weekend - if his hamstring feels OK by gametime, he'll play. If not, Endy Chavez will be out there.

On the topic of hamstrings, Brian Bannister was placed on the disabled list with the hamstring he injured in San Francisco. He was apparently in so much discomfort that he couldn't sit down on the plane - he stood the entire 4-hour trip to Atlanta. The good news is that the hamstring strain is the lowest level, so Bannister should hopefully be back in a couple of weeks. Victor Diaz took Bannister's roster spot, so I would guess Darren Oliver will be filling in for Bannister in the rotation. (Jose Lima is in AAA, and the only way I could see him being called up for the start would be if Beltran* went on the DL.)

The other big news is that Yusaka Iriki was suspended by Major League Baseball for a steroids violation. He got a 50-game suspension. That's bad news. Iriki was impressive for a while in spring training, and was contending for that final bullpen spot pretty much until the end of the spring. I get the impression the Mets aren't going to want much to do with him once the suspension is over.

MAILBAG: I'm pretty sure this is the first regular season appearance of 2006 for Dave in Brighton:

"Dear Johnnymets,

With the Braves series coming up this weekend, I was wondering what you thought of Pedro*'s performance against Atlanta so far in his Mets career. One of the reasons I was so conflicted about whether he should return to the Red Sox after the 2004 season was his declining effectiveness in facing the Yankees. It seemed like every time they played, he'd get up to 100 pitches by the 6th, Jeter would come to the plate, and send a double down the line. Every time.

Pedro vs Yankees by year

Yr ERA W-L
98 4.50 1-2
99 1.69 2-0
00 2.10 1-2
01 2.37 1-2
02 3.46 2-1
03 3.80 1-1
04 5.47 1-2

Signed,
Dave in Brighton"

Dave, thanks for making me do some research. Seriously. I'm happy to do it. With the Mets, Pedro* has pitched against the Braves 7 times now in 1+ years (counting Friday night). He's had a decision every time, and is now 5-2. Here are the totals:

7 starts, 50.2 IP, 13 ER, 32 H, 10 walks, 47 K's
5-2, 2.31 ERA

Those two losses were games that felt a little bit like how he used to pitch against the Yankees - he just reached a point where the Braves got to him. But he's pitched as well against the Braves as he's pitched against most everyone else since he's come to the Mets. There haven't been many teams that have given him trouble lately.

To take your question one step further - David Wright doesn't seem to be intimidated at all by Atlanta. This weekend I hope to check out Wright's career numbers against the Braves - I can remember other 2-homer games he's had versus the Braves, particularly Horacio Ramirez (he owns Ramirez). I'll try to look into that this weekend.

THE KID'S KIDS: So much for first place. The St. Lucie Mets lost both Thursday and Friday nights. They're now 13-8, a game behind Palm Beach. But they're in third place, a half-game behind Brevard County.

BEAT THE STREAK: I forgot to update this on Thursday - Mike Lowell got his hit, so it was a 6-gamer, and on Friday, I took Vernon Wells, who had good career numbers against Yankees starter Jaret Wright. Wells was 1-for-3, so I've tied my season-long streak, with 7. I'm staying with good career numbers for Saturday - Carlos Lee, who's 4-for-5 against Cubs starter Glendon Rusch.