New York Mets manager Terry Collins and GM Sandy Alderson made the long trip to Kissimmee instead of staying in Port St. Lucie so they could get a close look at what was likely going to be Oliver Perez's final start as a Met. What they got was pretty much typical of Perez over the last couple of years.
After being handed a 1-0 lead, Perez allowed the first four batters he faced to reach base, including a Michael Bourn single on his first pitch of the day. That was followed by a walk, single to score a run and a Carlos Lee double that gave the Houston Astros three quick runs.
Just as quick as he gave up the lead, Perez retired the next three batters on as many pitches. He carried that over to his second inning of work, only needing two pitches to get the first two outs and then striking out Bourn on three pitches to end the inning.
In his third, and final, inning of work, the lefty didn't give up a run, but did surrender a double to Hunter Pence and a four-pitch walk to Lee. He received plenty of help from his defense with Lucas Duda tracking down a long fly to the wall in left and Zach Lutz making a diving stop at third.
Collins visited the mound after the second out, but the manager chose to let Perez try and get out of the inning.
Overall, the final line will not be as kind to Perez as it should be considering his final two innings of work:
3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
If Collins and Alderson needed a dominant performance to justify keeping Perez on the roster, they certainly didn't get it. However, they also didn't get something they can use as the final straw in justifying a decision to cut bait with the enigmatic lefty.
In other words... "The Ollie Watch" continues.