It’s heartbreaking to see a great performance by a pitcher go unmatched by the hitters. But that’s exactly what happened to Mike Pelfrey and the Mets Thursday night.

Pelfrey only allowed one run in six innings. But the Mets only managed five hits and one run the entire game, allowing the Padres a 2-1 win. This was their third loss in 10 games, an improvement on the rest of the season, but disappointing nonetheless.

In spite of the loss, Randolph seems to be thinking positively about his team that performed well defensively. He felt good about keeping Pelfrey in his place in the line-up. And he kept him in even when things looked bad, pushing Pelfrey to be able to get through the ups and downs of a long pitching stretch, hoping he’ll be able to get to 120 pitches in a game at some point.

Randolph also had great praise for shortstop Reyes who performed well on Thursday, insisting in the Daily News: “He’s still an excellent shortstop. He’s going to win a Gold Glove someday.”

Even though these are great signs of a team with great potential, Willie Randolph cannot allow his ball club to lose games like this. You can’t keep a team to 2 runs and still lose the game. Mets fans demand more than this.

This is just sad. Mike Pelfrey came super close to a no-hitter, an accomplishment never achieved in Mets history. Yet in spite of his stunning performance the Mets still lost?

How? The hitters couldn’t score for the life of them. The consequence? 1-0 loss. Totally heartbreaking.

The Daily News writer Kristie Ackert reports that his great run ended in the seventh inning when “Aaron Boone led off the inning with a single to right-center field, meaning Pelfrey had to settle merely for pitching a gem. An inning later, Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly cost Pelfrey his shutout.”

But in spite of his small miss at perfection, the Shea stadium ticket buyers were brought to two standing ovations in his honor.

Surprisingly enough, he attributes the success to a cold. Feeling a little under the weather actually improved his performance. He said that he has a tendency of trying to do too much. The cold kept him from overthrowing.

So now the Mets head into the Subway series, what can we expect from these two teams hovering around .500 for the season? The rivalry will never end and NY fans will still be excited to see their two local teams go at it. Maybe both teams’ mediocrity will result in an even match up that could result in a few good games. Let’s hope.

As I reported earlier this week, the fifth starting position has been waving in the wind the last few weeks. It seemed to be down to Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey. Hernandez is a star but he’s struggled with his health. Pelfrey has simply pitched poorly this spring.

But it seems that the wait is nearly over. The Mets plan on making Hernandez the fifth starter if he plays well today in the Grapefruit League start. This is impressive given the fact that he’s had to totally redesign his pitching style to accommodate a bunion on his foot. To even be considered for the position shows the level of trust the management puts in him. There is something to be said for an incredible work ethic and experience.

Pelfrey has shown a lot of anxiety over the decision, hoping for the contest to be decided and over with. He’d rather not be the starting pitcher than not know if he’s going to be. Not exactly the kind of tenacious attitude one would hope from a star pitcher.

Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports Hernandez’s response to the situation:

“Worry? I no worry. When the Cuban government suspended me from baseball for life, I worry a long time. This is just pitching.”

Maybe it’s that fierce but calm attitude that gives El Duque the upper hand in this contest. Make sure to get your Mets tickets now.

So the Mets have a difficult challenge on their hands. Who should they pick for their 5th starting pitcher? They could have chosen a four man rotation to use until April 12th, but they felt that Pedro Martinez will play the best with the extra rest. So this gives them a choice between Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey.

Hernandez, otherwise known as El Duque, allowed five runs in three innings in the Mets recent loss to the Cardinals. Of course, his huge challenge is the bunion on his foot, which has forced him to completely readjust his entire style of pitching. It’s pretty remarkable to think that he’d even be considered as a starter. But his recent poor performance has made the powers that be readjust their expectations.

Then there’s Mike Pelfrey who Adam Rubin of the Daily News refers to as the “unproven underachiever.” Ouch. But given his performance against the Cardinals, allowing eight runs in 4-1/3 innings, I think the description is apt.

So what do the Mets do? In the long sports tradition of understating the truth, GM Omar Minaya says, “As a whole, you wish it would have been a better day.” So they’ve decided not to decide. All of those fans who purchase Mets tickets right now won’t know who they’ll be seeing on the mound in that fifth spot.