Now in his sixth season as a regular member of the Mets' rotation, he has become far more capable of saying "enough is enough" and imposing his will on opposing batting orders. Niese is a more trustworthy pitcher these days even if his record doesn't reflect that quality. Reminder: records can be as deceiving as the pitches that create them.
His record stood at 6-9 Monday night when he faced the Rockies, and it appeared headed toward 6-10 in the fourth inning. The lone left-handed pitcher in the Mets' rotation had surrendered a two-run home run to Carlos Gonzalez, the lone left-handed batter in the Rockies' batting order.