MIAMI -- Jeremy Hefner was not happy with his performance, but he did find some encouraging signs after the Mets rallied to beat the Miami Marlins, 6-5, Monday night.
Hefner was charged with five runs (three earned) in 5 1/3 innings. He threw 111 pitches and walked a career-high five batters.
Jeremy Hefner
#53 SP
New York Mets
2013 STATS
- GM22
W4
L8
BB34
K92
- ERA4.21
"A lot I didn't like," Hefner said. "But what I did like was I battled. My velocity came back a little bit. I threw some OK pitches. You know, it seemed like it was 0-2, 1-2 on every batter. And then they'd foul off two and I'd throw another ball, and they'd foul off another one. I ended up walking them or they'd get a hit. It was a grind today. I'm going to have games like that. They're much easier to take after a win, though, for sure.
"I think I lost my release point a little bit, especially with my off-speed pitches," he continued. "I don't know if they weren't coming out of my hand the same way or whatever. Or that they weren't biting on the balls in the dirt that teams have been in the past. We'll look at film and make the adjustments."
Hefner found the five walks unacceptable.
"I told [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen] after the game: I don't think I've ever, ever walked five people. Ever. That's the most frustrating thing," Hefner said. "If guys put the ball in play and they get hits, I'm OK with that. But to just give free passes away like that, that could have really hurt us and could have cost us the ballgame."
He has struggled in three starts since the All-Star break, and thought the break got him out of a groove.
"That was my first All-Star break in the big leagues," Hefner said. "In the minor leagues it's one or two days. And I've never pitched the first day after the All-Star break. It's no excuse. I knew it was going to happen. And I thought I did the right things to prepare myself for that. And I didn't. So this is a learning process for me. If that situation comes up again I'll know how to go after it."
