John Smoltz said he was in a hot shower when the Mets’ two-run, ninth inning rally ended last night, with the home team a run short of tying the Braves and giving Smoltz a no-decision.
“I saw everything until the last out,” said Smoltz, who hit the showers before the Braves’ 4-3 win was over.
When Cliff Floyd flied out to end it, Smoltz, who was relieved after 62/3 innings, had earned his first win of the year and first as a starter since June 3, 2001 in Pittsburgh. He won the anticipated rematch against Pedro Martinez.
“It feels good to get John a win,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. “I know it doesn’t matter to him at all, but it does to the rest of the team, getting one for him in that ‘W’ column, and every start but one he should have had a win. But we got him something to work with tonight.”
Smoltz threw a season-high 116 pitches last night, 81 for strikes against what he called a resilient and tenacious Mets lineup. In 62/3 innings, the 37-year-old former closer allowed seven hits and one run, gave up three walks and struck out four.
“It was a big win for me, personally, to get that off my back,” Smoltz said. “It’s been a long time between wins as a starter.”
Jose Reyes went 1-for-4 against Smoltz with a fifth-inning double. Kaz Matsui singled off him in the seventh, his only hit in four chances against, and Carlos Beltran was 0-for-3 with a pair of flyouts and a groundout to the mound in the sixth inning. Doug Mientkiewicz and Ramon Castro also went 0-for-3 against Smoltz, who said he didn’t have his best stuff on a night the ball felt like a “cue ball.”
“Threw some changeups for the first time all year, I invented a pitch I think two different times,” Smoltz said. “I was doing whatever I could to keep them off stride because they kept fouling balls off.”
Smoltz (1-3) lost three of his first four starts of the season, including the 15-strikeout gem he tossed against the Mets on April 10 in Atlanta.
“It was a battle tonight,” Smoltz said. “Tonight I was just grinding. They fouled off an incredible amount of pitches. I didn’t have a real good split or a curveball, and we found a way to win.”