Oliver Perez’s spot in the Mets’ rotation is safe.
The wild left-hander, who has just one win in his last 14 starts dating back to last season, is still scheduled to make his next start Friday at Florida. Mets manager Jerry Manuel said he won’t throw Perez into the bullpen.
“Not really,” Manuel said yesterday when asked if there had been discussions about yanking Perez from the rotation.
Perez (0-2, 4.50) walked seven, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch in 3 1/3 innings in the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Manuel seemed content to blame the weather rather than his pitcher, who is making $12 million this season. It was 53 degrees with 25 mph swirling winds in the series finale at Citi Field.
“The wind and the cold was a challenge for him,” Manuel said before last night’s late game against the Washington Nationals. “I thought the start before, in Cincinnati, was very good.”
In that May 3 start, Perez went six innings, scattering six hits and two runs, while walking four. The Mets lost the game, 3-2, after Manny Acosta gave up an 11th inning home run to Lance Nix.
“I do think as the weather heats up that we’ll see what we saw in Cincinnati rather than what we saw yesterday,” Manuel said. “Give it time.”
