The Mets finish the series against the Padres with the night cap of a day night double header. The night game will feature Jon Garland, another Padres pitcher who didn't see the Mets last week and for the Mets will feature Niese who made some positive noise in his last outing over the weekend.
Niese (2-2, 4.28 ERA) will be making his second start since returning from the DL tonight. Before going on the DL, Niese was one a roll for multiple starts, then stuttered (and then he got injured). On the fifth Niese went 7 innings and allowed only one earned run, allowed 6 hits, walked 1 and struck out 6. In Niese's limited Major League career he has never faced the Padres. In fact the only player he has faced on the Padres is Torrealba and he is 1-2 against Jon.
On the other side of the rubber is Jon Garland (6-3, 2.68 ERA). In his last four starts, Garland is 2-1 pitching 26.0 innings posting a 4.15 ERA. He pitched two games against the Mets last year going 1-0 over 15.0 innings with a 2.40 ERA (4 ER). The Mets have these numbers against Garland:
Blanco 2-12, 2B
Francoeur 5-10, 2B, HR
Wright 1-10
Reyes 2-3, 3B
Lets Go Mets!
