Just call him Mr. Clutch or as our own Daniel Nelson likes to refer to him, “El Dramatico”. Yes, of course we’re talking about the incredible Jordany Valdespin who came off the bench once again and delivered another dramatic pinch-hit home run to help the Mets beat the Marlins 7-6 and salvage the final game of the series.

Valdespin continues to display an uncanny ability for rising to the occasion whenever the Mets need a big hit, and in the last two seasons, no player in baseball has delivered more pinch-hit home runs than El Dramatico.

His five pinch-hit homers last season set a franchise record, and only one month into the season he’s already launched his second big knock of the year.

The Mets were trailing by three when David Wright opened the sixth with a leadoff double. Marlon Byrd followed with an RBI single and after another Ike Davis single, Valdespin took reliever A.J. Ramos deep with three-run homer. It was incredible and even more so was watching Spin pumping his fist as he rounded the bases. It put the Mets up 5-4.

An inning later, the Mets would tack on two more runs thanks to a two-run double by John Buck who begins the month of May the much in the same way he ended April. Buck now leads the league with 27 RBI.

David Wright had a great game with a dazzling play at third base and he homered, singled, and doubled at the plate.

Dillon Gee started the game and delivered a very rocky performance in which he was tagged for four runs on nine hits and two walks. It could have been worse if not for some nifty plays in the field.

Things got dicey in the bottom of the seventh when Lucas Duda misplayed a fly ball by Justin Ruggiano off reliever Scott Atchison allowing two more Marlins run to score and make the score 7-6. But the bullpen held down the fort the rest of the way, and Bobby Parnell pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the victory and end the Mets’ six game losing streak. For Parnell it was his third save of the season.

This wasn’t a picture perfect win, but after a week of grim and disheartening losses, I’ll take it. After a day off on Thursday, the Mets will head to Atlanta to begin a weekend series with the Braves on Friday night at Turner Field. Shaun Marcum will make his second start of the season and will oppose the Braves’ Mike Minor at 7:05 pm.

Starting Lineup

1. Jordany Valdespin – CF
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. John Buck – C
6. Lucas Duda – LF
7. Mike Baxter – RF
8. Ruben Tejada – SS
9. Dillon Gee – RHP

Game Notes

John Buck drove in his 21st run yesterday. Twelve other Mets have finished April with at least 20 RBI, with Jeff Kent holding the franchise record of 26. Buck is tied for the major league lead with 21 RBI with Baltimore’s Chris Davis and is also tied for fifth in the
majors with six home runs.

The Mets have scored 97 runs in their first 16 games (6.1 runs per game). The 97 runs are tied for the most the Mets have scored after 16 games in any season. The 2007 Mets scored 97 runs after the first 16 contests of the year. The 97 runs are third-most in the majors behind Colorado (100) and Oakland (99).

David Wright is tied for the major league lead with three triples after collecting his third triple of the year yesterday. The three triples are already tied for the second -most of his career. Wright had a career-high five triples in 2006.

The first 25, 000 fans attending today’s game will receive a Ron Darling bobblehead presented by Citi. Darling’s bobblehead is the first in a season-long promotion highlighting iconic Mets All-Stars.

Game Preview

The Mets and Nationals find themselves in a rubber game this afternoon as the Mets look to rebound from yesterday’s 7-6 loss. After a phenomenal start on Friday, the Mets pitching could not repeat which put the Mets offense in a tight position.Gee looks to get back on the right track today as he takes on Jordan Zimmermann.

Gee is 0-3 this season in as many starts with a 8.36 ERA over 14 innings of work. Looking closer at his stats, he started off with a 6.1 inning performance where he allowed one run, followed by 7 ER over 3 innings and then 5 ER in 4.2 innings. In one start against the Nationals last year, he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned over 8 hits in a 5.1 inning start. The Nationals have the following numbers against Gee:

Werth 5-15, 2B
Desmond 4-15, 2 HR
Espinosa 1-11
LaRoche 0-6
Suzuki 0-2

The Mets bats get to rip apart Jordarn Zimmermann today who is 3-0 this season with a 2.45 ERA over 22.0 innings. Last year he was very good against the Mets with a 1-0 record over 4 games and 23.0 innings with the Mets where he posted a 1.96 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Jordan:

Wright 9-27, 2 2B, 2 HR
Murphy 7-21, 2 2B, HR
Davis 3-13, 2B, HR
Tejada 5-13,
Buck 3 -11, 2 2B
Duda 2-11, 2B
Valdespin 1-4, HR

Let’s Go Mets!

Check 213 Miles From Shea!

In the quest of rooting for good stories, Gee is up there in his attempt to come back from emergency surgery to repair a blocked artery in his shoulder that caused his right hand to go numb. Simply, you can’t throw if you can’t feel the ball.

“I’ve had no setbacks, zero,’’ said Gee during spring training, where the temperatures were thirty degrees higher than the mid-40s expected today in New York, where the Mets go for a sweep of their season-opening three-game series.Gee will throw his first major league pitch since undergoing surgery at last year’s All-Star break. He had many of his fears quelled because he was able to throw last September.

“I didn’t want to spend the off-season wondering if I could throw again,” Gee said. “It took a lot off my mind.”

The feeling returned to Gee’s hand, but today will be the coolest weather in which he’s had to pitch. In preparation, Gee is on nitroglycerin tablets to expand the blood vessels and maintain circulation. Command will be the issue if the cold makes it difficult for him to grip the ball.

“I think I’ll be fine,’’ Gee said. “It hasn’t been an issue.’’

Gee will attempt to give the Mets their third straight strong starting effort, following Jon Niese in the opener and Harvey’s 10-strikeout performance last night.

His start is part of the progression that began when he was drafted in the 21^st round of the 2007 draft. His first work was out of the bullpen, but by the end of his first season with Single-A Brooklyn he was starting and had a 3-1 record with a 2.28 ERA. Gee moved up to Double-A in 2008 and Triple-A in 2009, but that year ended not with a September call-up by the Mets, but with a torn labrum in his shoulder.

Gee returned strong in 2010 and was brought up by the Mets to make his debut, Sept. 7, and was brilliant in taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He eventually gave up a run on two hits. Gee stayed in the rotation and finished 2-2 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts. That first impression wasn’t a fluke as he won his first seven decisions in 2011, and finished at 13-6 with a 4.43 ERA and firmly entrenched in the rotation.

Gee doesn’t have the physical make-up of Harvey or Zack Wheeler, but the Mets like his poise and resiliency. He doesn’t get rattled when things go wrong, as they did in 2012 when he was hit hard and often to have a 5.65 ERA in his first seven starts.

The clot in his shoulder didn’t appear to be the cause of his problems as he rebounded with nine-strikeout games against San Diego and Baltimore and improved to 6-7 at the break. He was supposed to open the second half against Atlanta, but it never happened because he complained of numbness in his arm.

Then came the wonder if he’d ever pitch again. Now there’s no pain, no numbness. Just anticipation.

The Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Mets this afternoon by the score of 9-1 at Tradition Field. Most of the damage came against starting pitcher Dillon Gee who was absolutely awful and completely out of sync.

Gee had no control as evidenced by his four walks, two hit batters and three wild pitches in just two innings of work.

He was charged with six earned runs and didn’t beat around the bush after the game when he was asked if any particular pitch was giving him trouble. “All of them [gave me trouble], terrible.”

The  finally tally on balls and strikes told the story; 53 pitches and only 24 strikes.

According to Adam Rubin, Gee said he did not care to throw additional pitches in the bullpen after the outing. He instead just wanted to turn the page on a lousy day.

I agree, turn the page…

Overpowering and arguably flawless in yesterday’s start against Miami, Harvey had one of those seamless starts pitchers rarely have in their third spring training game.

Dillon Gee, today’s starter against Detroit in Lakeland, has no such illusions.

“My mechanics are off,’’ Gee said. “It will be just my third start of the spring, so they are bound to be off. Spring training is for trying to figure out that kind of stuff.’’

Gee insists it is not an injury-related mechanical problem, but a matter of working off the rust that is a natural occurrence this time of year. It’s part of the process of getting ready to make 30 stars a summer.

“It’s all about location,’’ said Gee as he laced up his shoes while sitting at his locker yesterday afternoon. “Location is all about repetition early in spring training. I’m trying to refine everything.’’

As it is with Harvey and Jon Niese, Gee said mastering his change-up is the pitch he most needs to refine that will tell him if he’s ready to start the season. A change-up is thrown with the same motion as the fastball, and even though the pitcher uses the same grip, he releases the pitch with a different pressure on the ball.

“The change-up is such a feel pitch,’’ Gee said. “It takes time to feel comfortable with it. … Having good results would be good, but the important thing is to feel comfortable with all my pitches and improve my location.’’

Gee made a good impression in 2011, going 13-6 with 114 strikeouts and 71 walks in 160.2 innings. He was 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA in 109.2 innings last year before it was cut short when he had surgery to repair an artery in his shoulder.

Gee complained of numbness in his arm and hand that prevented him from properly gripping the ball. The injury generated the uneasy speculation of there being a problem with blood circulation, which naturally lends itself to concern about a heart issue.

Surgery repaired the problem and alleviated the heart concern, but Gee still had the concern about his ability to throw. He rehabbed and threw in the bullpen in mid-September to preclude the wonder of a winter of not knowing.

“I wanted to prove to myself and everybody else that I could still pitch,’’ Gee said of the importance of getting on mound before winter. “I didn’t want to wait and then find out there was something wrong (in spring training). If that were the case it would have been too late to get it fixed.’’

It’s a fact: Every team experiences some sort of injuries over the course of a 162-game season.

For some reason however, it always seems the Mets are plagued with the injury bug more so than other teams.

This year was no different, as Mike Pelfrey went down early, Ruben Tejada missed time and now Johan Santana has been shut down.

But an injury that was overlooked in the big picture that has had a crippling effect has been Dillon Gee’s blood clot right before the All-Star break.

Gee was just 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA in 17 starts, so you may be asking how this injury was so detrimental. But look at his game logs, and you’ll see how vital he was to the Mets’ first half success.

In those 17 starts, Gee tallied 12 quality starts. The Mets however only won six of those games, proving the offense and bullpen were of course futile.

Throw out his first three starts of the season (even though he threw a seven-inning gem against the Braves in his second start), and Gee threw quality starts in 11 of his final 14 games.

What more can you ask of your fifth starter?

Gee’s record was not indicative of how he performed this season. It’s a shame that he went on the disabled when he did, because he was just coming off a stellar eight-inning, one-run outing against the Cubs right before the break.

While the outlandish two-out RBI stats played a role in carrying the Mets during the first half, it really was the starting pitching that kept the Mets relevant. R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana and Jon Niese did the heavy lifting, but Gee was right there being a consistent anchor.

SNY showed a stat last night that Mets’ starting pitchers’ ERA so far in the second half is 4.74. This obviously has played a role in the team’s downfall.

It’s curious that the Mets didn’t immediately give Matt Harvey the chance to fill Gee’s spot in the rotation while the team still had a fleeting chance. Harvey has looked great in the bigs so far and would have almost certainly done a better job than Miguel Batista and Jeremy Hefner.

Either way, what’s done is done, and now we all just hope for the speedy recovery of Gee. Though he won’t return this season, Gee is making good progress.

Considering that the Mets have other pressing needs (mainly the outfield and the bullpen), expect the starting rotation to look something like this: R.A. Dickey, a healthy and well-rested Johan Santana, Jon Niese, Matt Harvey and Dillon Gee. Based on track record, Santana will likely get hurt at some point, which then opens the door for Zack Wheeler.

This is actually a decent rotation when everyone is performing up to par. Now if the team can only hit a little…