"After Jason Bay banged against the left field wall at Dodger Stadium on Monday night - the very wall that ended his season last year - his mind turned to narrative. What a story, he thought, while staggering backward. Couldn't make this up.

Tuesday night, Bay was once again the protagonist of an unpredictable yarn, knocking a pair of home runs in the 6-0 win over Los Angeles. With Bay's three homers in the past week and a game-winning single against the Yankees on Sunday, his Met narrative might be changing. This is still not a fairy tale, but the themes are no longer merely struggle and frustration, money wasted and unearned. Bay, once lost, is helping his team.

"When you read into Jason Bay's history, when he gets going, he can carry you for a while," manager Terry Collins said.

The left fielder owned Tuesday night, but another frustrated Met fought through struggle to answer a challenge from his manager. Collins' pregame message for Mike Pelfrey was simple and blunt.

"We need a big game out of him tonight," the manager said of his would-be ace, who entered the night 3-7 with a difficult-to-believe 6.75 ERA, 1-7 record on the road and two consecutive losses that left him low. Collins could not explain those problems, or he did not care to. He wished only to frame the night as significant for his starter."