UPDATE: Perez allowed just the one run, but he threw just 14 out of 29 pitches for strikes and walked two. By my count, he only had one swinging-strike. If his past usage is any indication, this means we won’t see him again until September 27.
9:43 PM: All good things must come to an end. Oliver Perez just entered tonight’s game against the Braves in the bottom of the seventh inning and promptly gave up a long home run to Brian McCann. Sigh.
9:25 PM: Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com did some research and according to Elias Sports Bureau, it turns out that Oliver Perez’s current streak of 25 games without an appearance is the longest streak by a major league pitcher this season. Perez last pitched against the Diamondbacks on August 1. Ross Wolf of the Athletics went 21 straight games without an appearance from July 30-August 21.
This isn’t a surprise, really, but it’s not like the Mets starters have even given him a chance to mop-up. While their offense has been out to lunch since the All-Star break, Mets starters have a fantastic 3.03 ERA this month.