Humber was promoted to the Mets, again as a September call-up, on September 2. Though the Mets considered inserting him into the starting rotation immediately, they chose to start Pelfrey. Humber made two relief appearances for the Mets, on September 5 and 11. The Mets, having lost eight of their previous 12 games and seen their lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East division race decrease from seven games to two, removed Pelfrey from the final rotation to give an extra day of rest to pitchers Pérez, Maine, and Pedro Martínez, and gave Humber his first Major League start on September 26, 2007, against the Washington Nationals, choosing him over Dave Williams. Although the Mets raced out to a 6–2 lead, Humber allowed five runs in four-plus innings, receiving a no decision in a game the Mets eventually lost, 9–6. The decision to start Humber was seen as emblematic of the Mets' desperation. As George Vecsey wrote in "The New York Times", "How did it come to this? How did the entire Mets' season come to depend so much on a young pitcher, Philip Humber, who had never started in the major leagues until last night?" He concluded his three Mets appearances in the 2007 season with a 7.71 ERA.